SR0422 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0422 LRB095 14323 KXB 40216 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Earl Durham of Chicago, who passed away on October 27, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Earl L. Durham was the youngest child of seven born to parents who came to Chicago from Mississippi during the Great Migration of the 1920s; he worked as a waiter on the Illinois Central Railroad until being drafted during World War II; after his service to his country ended, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill and enrolled in college; he was a graduate of Roosevelt College and the University of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Durham received his degree in chemistry and worked in a chemical plant; he later organized parents in Woodlawn and Hyde Park to pressure the Board of Education to improve Hyde Park High School so that parents of all races would want to send their children there; over the next few years, Earl Durham made his living studying the psychopharmacology of substance abuse and serving as research director at a halfway house for ex-offenders and heroin addicts, where part of his job was to organize an advisory committee of community residents; and

WHEREAS, Earl Durham made the decision to earn a master's degree at the School of Social Service Administration (SSA) at the University of Chicago, and upon graduation was hired by the School as a professor; he taught at SSA for 12 years and was able to influence many students to consider community organizing as a career; and

WHEREAS, In the 1970s, Earl Durham joined with Dr. Don Moore as a founding member of Designs for Change, a group committed to changing the Chicago school system for the betterment of all students; he continued to work at the University, with Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) and encouraging others to make a difference; and

WHEREAS, Earl L. Durham was preceded in death by his son, Claude Durham; his brothers, Richard Durham and Curtis Durham; his sisters, Winifred Holland and Marie Durham; and

WHEREAS, Earl L. Durham is survived by his three sons Gerald, Eric, and Jody; his brother, Caldwell Durham; his sister, Clotilde Smith; his sister-in-law, Clarice Durham; his two grandchildren Cheyane and Jaz Durham; and many nieces, nephews and a host of friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Earl L. Durham; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Earl L. Durham as a symbol of our sympathy.