093_HR0106

 
                                     LRB093 03756 HSS 12075 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  Noah  Parden  was  born  into  conditions   not
 3    uncommon  for  African  Americans  in  America's 19th century
 4    South; he was born at Rome, Georgia on July  18,  1857,  just
 5    four  years prior to the outbreak of the civil war; he picked
 6    cotton on a Georgia plantation  and  was  forbidden  to  pass
 7    along  his  rare  ability to read to other African Americans;
 8    and

 9        WHEREAS, He moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee  at  age  15,
10    where  he  attended high school; he studied for five years at
11    Central Tennessee College, supporting himself by working as a
12    waiter, shoeshiner, and as a barber; he became  a  lawyer  in
13    1891; and

14        WHEREAS,  Noah  Parden  overcame the incredible obstacles
15    confronting an  African-American  person  at  that  time  and
16    emerged  as  the first African-American attorney in St. Clair
17    County,  the  first  African-American  person  to  become  an
18    assistant county prosecutor and assistant city prosecutor  in
19    St.   Clair   County  and  East  St.  Louis,  and  the  first
20    African-American  to  argue  successfully  before  the   U.S.
21    Supreme Court; and

22        WHEREAS,  In 1906, Noah Parden argued successfully before
23    the  U.S.  Supreme  Court  on  behalf  of  Ed   Johnson,   an
24    African-American  man  wrongly  convicted  of  raping a white
25    woman; because of his efforts for Mr. Johnson,  Mr.  Parden's
26    life was threatened several times; and

27        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Parden won two hundred cases; he had often
28    been compared to Clarence Darrow, the famous criminal lawyer;
29    during  his  career,  he  was   one   of   the   best   known
30    African-American  lawyers  in  the country; he was frequently
31    called from his East St. Louis home to defend  those  accused
32    in criminal cases; and
 
                            -2-      LRB093 03756 HSS 12075 r
 1        WHEREAS,  Noah Parden was a family man with varied skills
 2    and interests; he and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  two
 3    children,  Frank  and  Lillian; he could sew, knit, and could
 4    make his own clothes; he could speak  several  languages  and
 5    could converse freely on literature and art; therefore, be it

 6        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 7    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
 8    we   honor  Attorney  Noah  Parden  for  his  dedication  and
 9    commitment to the causes of  justice  and  equality,  and  we
10    recognize  his  contributions to the citizens of Illinois and
11    the country; and be it further

12        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
13    presented  to  the family of Noah Parden with our respect and
14    esteem for his accomplishments.