093_SR0281
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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois were saddened to hear of the death of Julia Mae
4 White of Chicago on Tuesday, July 1, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, Mrs. White was born Julia Mae Chapman on
6 November 11, 1910 in Earle, Arkansas to Hattie Mae Chapman
7 and George Chapman; she grew up in Arkansas at a time when
8 she and other African-Americans were forbidden to use
9 washrooms for whites or white areas in restaurants and were
10 relegated by segregation policies to the upper balconies of
11 movie houses and backs of buses; and
12 WHEREAS, The pain she felt from this discrimination
13 shaped her life and influenced how she raised her 7 children;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, she moved
16 with her family to Alton, Illinois, where she met and married
17 Edward Shaw, a factory worker; she was pregnant with their
18 third child when he died in 1933; and
19 WHEREAS, She later fell in love with Jesse C. White, Sr.,
20 and the couple married and began raising their family, which
21 included 4 more children, in Alton; they followed her parents
22 to Chicago about 7 years later; and
23 WHEREAS, Mrs. White's culinary skills were well-tested
24 after moving to Chicago; she was very creative in cooking
25 meals with meager amounts of food; she held high expectations
26 for her 7 children when it came to their education, she
27 expected them to keep their grades up to par; and
28 WHEREAS, The family lived in city apartments for 30
29 years, first on the North Side, then the West Side; after her
30 husband died in the late-1970s, Mrs. White bought a home on
31 the city's West Side with her youngest son, the late George
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1 E. White; and
2 WHEREAS, In 1985, she and a niece bought a home in
3 Country Club Hills, though Mrs. White returned to the city to
4 live in a senior citizens apartment complex on the North Side
5 3 years later; her suburban home provided a chance to plant
6 vegetables, as she had done in Alton; she raised tomatoes,
7 mustard greens, spinach, cabbage, and potatoes, cooked them
8 in various ways, and served them with homemade lemonade, her
9 favorite beverage; and
10 WHEREAS, Mrs. White enjoyed staying at home, particularly
11 because the view from her seventh-floor apartment was of
12 downtown Chicago; often her favorite things to look at,
13 however, were not found outside her window; she enjoyed
14 watching wrestling, boxing, and roller derby contests on the
15 television; and
16 WHEREAS, Mrs. White will also be remembered as a straight
17 talker; if she had something to say, she'd say it loud and
18 clear; and
19 WHEREAS, White instilled in each of her children the
20 value of hard work, education, and tolerance, which served as
21 inspiration to her son, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse
22 White, in developing the Jesse White Tumbling Team; and
23 WHEREAS, The passing of Julia Mae White has been deeply
24 felt by all who knew and loved her, especially her children,
25 Doris Ivy, Dorothy White, Cora White, and Illinois Secretary
26 of State Jesse White; her 35 grandchildren; and her 15
27 great-grandchildren; she was preceded in death by her sons,
28 George E. White, Charles Shaw, and Edward Shaw, and her
29 parents; therefore, be it
30 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
31 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
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1 of Julia Mae White and extend out deepest sympathy to her
2 family, friends, and community; she will be remembered as a
3 devoted mother who inspired her children to great lengths;
4 and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to the family of Julia Mae White as an expression
7 of our sincerest condolences.