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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 learned with regret of the death of Jorja English Palmer,
4 Chicago organizer, activist, and freedom fighter, on December
5 29, 2005; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Mrs. Palmer was born in New Madrid, Missouri, the
7 seventh of nine children; her parents died when she was four,
8 and she and her siblings moved to Chicago's South Side to live
9 with an aunt; and
 
10     WHEREAS, She graduated from Du Sable High School in 1948
11 and had already joined the National Association for the
12 Advancement of Colored People at the urging of several
13 teachers; this was the beginning of a lifetime of activism that
14 included working in public relations for Dr. Martin Luther King
15 Jr., the Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., and Minister Louis
16 Farrakhan; she was a leader in the battle to end school
17 segregation in Chicago, and she fought for fair housing in the
18 city; and
 
19     WHEREAS, In 1975, Mrs. Palmer married Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming
20 Palmer Jr., who made a name for himself as an outspoken
21 advocate for civil rights as a journalist for the Chicago Daily
22 News and a regular commentator on Chicago's airwaves; he
23 preceded her in death in 2004; together, the Palmers were a
24 "one-two punch" of commitment to a range of causes, including
25 founding Chicago Black United Communities (CBUC); and
 
26     WHEREAS, In 1981, the couple used the CBUC to launch the
27 city's largest voter registration drive, which solidified a
28 constituency of black voters for Harold Washington, who went on
29 to become Chicago's first black mayor in 1983; in 1982, Mrs.
30 Palmer established the Stanford English Home for Boys, which is
31 considered the first group home in Illinois for black children,

 

 

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1 named for her autistic son, the late Stanford English; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The passing of Jorja English Palmer has been
3 deeply felt by many, especially her daughters, Darien Y. Simon
4 and Karen E. English; her son, Jami D. English; her
5 stepdaughter, Trudy Palmer; and her stepson, Lu Palmer III;
6 therefore, be it
 
7     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
8 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
9 Jorja English Palmer, a woman who exerted a profound influence
10 in the lives of countless people, fighting for justice and
11 equality, and we extend our sincere condolences to her family,
12 friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to her family as an expression of our deepest
15 sympathy.