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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 Truman K. Gibson Jr. on
4 Friday, December 23, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Mr. Gibson was a Chicago attorney who had been the
6 last surviving member of the World War II-era "black Cabinet"
7 of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman; he was
8 an advocate for African-American soldiers in the War Department
9 from 1940 through 1945 and fought tirelessly to break down the
10 segregation that ruled the U.S. Army, to persuade the military
11 leadership to commit black servicemen to combat instead of
12 relegating them to service and support duty, and to protect the
13 rights and even the lives of African-American soldiers trained
14 at camps mostly in the Jim Crow South where white violence was
15 a constant threat; and
 
16     WHEREAS, This story was the heart of Mr. Gibson's memoir,
17 "Knocking Down Barriers: My Fight for Black America", published
18 this year by Northwestern University Press; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Born in Atlanta on January 22, 1912, Mr. Gibson
20 moved with his family to Chicago in 1929; as a young graduate
21 of the University of Chicago Law School, he was a member of the
22 legal team that challenged a restrictive racial covenant
23 prohibiting African Americans from living in the Washington
24 Park area of the South Side of Chicago; he spent months pouring
25 over property deeds to build the factual basis for the U.S.
26 Supreme Court case that overturned the covenant; and
 
27     WHEREAS, In 1940, Mr. Gibson served as executive director
28 of the American Negro Exposition, which was in effect an
29 African-American world's fair to commemorate the 75th
30 anniversary of emancipation, showcase black excellence in the
31 arts and entertainment, and celebrate African-American

 

 

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1 contributions to U.S. history, featuring Duke Ellington, Paul
2 Robeson, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, and other famous
3 entertainers of the day; and
 
4     WHEREAS, With the outbreak of war in Europe and the
5 increasing likelihood that the United States would be drawn in,
6 the Roosevelt administration created the office of civilian
7 aide to the secretary of war as an advocate for African
8 Americans; Mr. Gibson served as an assistant to the first
9 civilian aide, William Hastie, and in 1943 was promoted to the
10 job; he played an influential role in finally convincing the
11 U.S. Army that it had to commit African-American troops to
12 battle; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Mr. Gibson was an adviser to filmmaker Frank Capra
14 of "It's a Wonderful Life" fame in making the movie short "The
15 Negro Soldier" to demonstrate to the civilian population the
16 African-American contribution to the war; he got Joe Louis, the
17 world heavyweight boxing champion, to form a group of boxing
18 champs to put on matches at U.S. Army bases here and aboard;
19 and
 
20     WHEREAS, Mr. Gibson was appointed to the Advisory
21 Commission on Universal Military Training by President Harry S.
22 Truman; he had met boxing champ Joe Louis and become his lawyer
23 in the 1930s; during the war, Mr. Louis often reported to Mr.
24 Gibson about racial conditions on Army posts, and after the
25 war, his association with Louis propelled Mr. Gibson into a
26 career as one of the nation's premier boxing promoters; and
 
27     WHEREAS, With Chicagoans James Norris and Arthur Wirtz, he
28 ran the International Boxing Club, which ruled the sport until
29 declared a monopoly by the courts in 1959; he pioneered network
30 television broadcasting of the sport; and
 
31     WHEREAS, After leaving boxing, Mr. Gibson returned to law

 

 

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1 practice in Chicago; he practiced law until his health failed
2 in November of 2005; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The passing of Truman K. Gibson Jr. has been
4 deeply felt by many, especially his daughter, Karen Kelley; his
5 two grandchildren; his three great-grandchildren; and his
6 great-great-grandchild; 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 Truman K. Gibson, who championed the rights of African-American
10 military members, and we extend our sincere condolences to his
11 family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
12 further
 
13     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
15 sympathy.