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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the 
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State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate Ruby Dee on being 
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the 2006 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 
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Chicago International Film Festival Black Perspectives; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ruby Dee was born on October 27, 1924, in 
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Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Harlem, New York; she graduated 
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from Hunter College in 1945 with degrees in French and Spanish; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ms. Dee made several appearances on Broadway 
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before receiving national recognition for her role in the film 
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"The Jackie Robinson Story"; her acting career has crossed all 
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major forms of media over a span of eight decades; and

 
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    WHEREAS, She has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards and 
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won two, one for her role in "Decoration Day" and once for a 
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guest appearance on the program "China Beach"; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Ms. Dee and her late husband, actor Ossie Davis, 
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were well-known civil rights activists; she has been a member 
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of CORE, the NAACP, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating 
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Committee, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, She has appeared in more than 20 films, and her 
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notable stage appearances include roles in "A Raisin in the 
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Sun" and Genet's "The Balcony"; in addition to her two Emmy 
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awards, her acting has been honored with an Obie Award in 1971 
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for her performance in Athol Fugard's "Boesman and Lena", a 
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Drama Desk Award in 1972 for her role in "Wedding Band", and an 
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Ace Award for her ground-braking performance as Mary Tyrone in 
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Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night"; as Kate in 
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"The Taming of the Shrew" and Cordelia in "King Lear", in 1965, 
 


 






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she became the first African-American woman to play major parts 
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in the American Shakespeare Festival; she has written plays, 
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musicals, and several books of poetry, and she turned her own 
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stories and folk tales into the 1998 one-woman show "One Good 
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Nerve"; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1988, she was inducted into the American 
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Theatre Hall of Fame; along with her husband, she has been 
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inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame, awarded the 
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Silver Circle Award by the Academy of Television Arts and 
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Sciences, the National Medal of Arts Award, and the Screen 
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Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award; in December 2004, 
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they were recipients of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors for 
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their contributions to the performing arts; she is a member of 
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Actors' Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, the 
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American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the 
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Writers Guild; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In honor of her many achievements, Ms. Dee will 
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receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago 
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International Film Festival Black Perspectives on Friday, 
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October 13, 2006; therefore, be it
 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we congratulate Ruby Dee on receiving the Lifetime Achievement 
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Award from the Chicago International Film Festival Black 
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Perspectives; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Ms. Dee as an expression of our deep respect and 
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esteem.