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HR1591 |
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LRB095 22937 GRL 53384 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of |
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| Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Zelda Birdsong |
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| of Chicago on the occasion of her 100th birthday on December |
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| 18, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong was born on December 18, 1908 |
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| in Sardis, Mississippi; she attended school at LeMoyne High |
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| School and Tennessee State University in Memphis, Tennessee; |
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| she also attended Northwestern University in Chicago, majoring |
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| in journalism; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong was employed as a school |
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| teacher in Memphis, Tennessee; she was employed with the United |
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| States government with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; she |
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| served as an administrative assistant for the Reverend D.I. |
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| Isom, Jr.; she also has performed various duties with the St. |
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| Paul C.M.E. Church in Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong has had a long and |
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| distinguished record of service with the C.M.E. Church; in |
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| 1919, she joined the Missionary Society of the C.M.E. Church in |
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| Memphis, Tennessee; she has been a loyal and faithful member of |
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| the St. Paul C.M.E. Church in Chicago since 1939; in 1978, she |
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| was appointed to be a member of the Judicial Council of the |
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HR1591 |
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LRB095 22937 GRL 53384 r |
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| Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong is a member of numerous |
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| organizations within the C.M.E. Church, including the C.M.E. |
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| Hall of Fame, the R.A. Carter Club, the Silent Workers Club, |
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| the Lay Department, and the Sunday School program; she is a |
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| past director of the Board of Christian Education and a past |
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| secretary at the Missionary Society's national level; she was |
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| the first woman to be appointed to the Steward Board; she |
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| currently holds the offices of vice-chair of the Steward Board |
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| and parliamentarian of the St. Paul C.M.E. Church Missionary |
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| Society; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. Zelda Birdsong married Arnie Quarles in 1937; |
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| he passed away in 1976; in 1981, she married Robert Birdsong; |
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| he passed away in 1996; she has four children, Essie Hill |
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| (deceased), Robert Birdsong Jr., Calvin Birdsong, and Leonard |
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| Birdsong; she also has a niece, Patricia Huey-You, and a |
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| nephew, Anderson Springfield; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| congratulate Dr. Zelda Birdsong on the occasion of her 100th |
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| birthday and wish her many more happy and healthy years to |
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| come; and be it further
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