HR0622 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0622 LRB097 14685 GRL 59732 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity on the occasion of its 105th anniversary and the Theta Mu Lambda Chapter of the fraternity on its 22nd Annual Black and Gold Ball; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of color around the world since its founding on December 4, 1906; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by 7 college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendants in the United States; the visionary founders, known as the "Jewels" of the Fraternity, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell University; the Jewel founders and early leaders of the Fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity; and

WHEREAS, True to its form as the "first of firsts", Alpha Phi Alpha has been an interracial fraternity since 1945; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha recognizes the importance of stressing academic excellence among its members, as well as the need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African-Americans; Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community's fight for civil rights through civil rights leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Edward Brooke, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Andrew Young, William Gray, Paul Robeson, and many others; and

WHEREAS, The Theta Mu Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was established on December 12, 1963 in Joliet to serve the needs of community residents in the South Suburban Chicago area; Theta Mu Lambda has served as a distinguished part of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; and

WHEREAS, The members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity serve as models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity on the occasion of its 105th anniversary and congratulate the members of the Theta Mu Lambda Chapter of the fraternity on its 22nd Annual Black and Gold Ball, and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Theta Mu Lambda Chapter of the fraternity as a symbol of our esteem and respect.