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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop
4Arthur M. Brazier of Chicago, who passed away on October 22,
52010; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur M. Brazier was the Pastor Emeritus
7of the Apostolic Church of God, which is located in the
8Woodlawn community of Chicago; he was born in 1921 in Chicago
9to Robert and Geneva Brazier; he was raised on the south side
10of Chicago and attended Douglas Elementary School and Wendell
11Phillips High School; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Bishop Brazier was a World War II Army Veteran,
13serving overseas in India and Burma in 1943, and returning in
14December of 1945; in July 1947, he met his future wife, Esther
15Isabelle Holmes, and they were married February 21, 1948; in
161955, while still being employed with the U.S. Postal Service
17as a letter carrier, he enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute
18evening school to acquire formal systematic biblical training;
19he pursued these studies continuously for 6 years and received
20his graduating certificate in 1961; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In 1960, Bishop Brazier was inducted as pastor of
22Apostolic Church of God; Bishop Brazier also served as diocesan

 

 

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1of the Sixth Episcopal District of the Pentecostal Assemblies
2of the World for 31 years; Bishop Brazier began his community
3work with the Industrial Areas Foundation under the tutelage of
4Saul Alinsky and Nicholas Von Hoffman; during his work with
5Saul Alinsky, Bishop Brazier became the founding president of
6The Woodlawn Organization in 1961; in 1966, Bishop Brazier
7invited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the Apostolic Church of
8God for its annual Bible Conference; their like passion for
9civil rights led the 2 men to protest together against
10segregated housing and schools in Chicago; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1969, Bishop Brazier accepted a staff position
12with the Citizens Crusade Against Poverty, and in 1970, he
13resigned as President of The Woodlawn Organization; in addition
14to his pastoral work, Bishop Brazier joined the staff of the
15Center for Community Change, a Washington-based institution
16that gave technical assistance to community organizations in
17various parts of the country; after several years of service
18with the Center, he was elevated to the office of Vice
19President in charge of Major Projects, and remained in that
20position until 1986 when he resigned to spend more time with
21his church; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Bishop Brazier was the founding chairman of the
23Board of the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation
24(WPIC), a community-based group organized for the improvement

 

 

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1of the Woodlawn community, and was also the founding chairman
2of The Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization; by
3the appointment of Mayor Richard Daley, Bishop Brazier sat on
4the Board of the Public Building Commission of Chicago for 20
5years before resigning due to failing health; he also chaired
6the Executive Committee of the New Communities
7Program/Woodlawn, an affiliate of the Local Initiative Support
8Corporation (LISC), and the Woodlawn Children's Promise
9Community (WCPC); Bishop Brazier retired from the pastorate of
10the Apostolic Church of God on June 1, 2008; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Bishop Brazier is survived by his wife, Esther
12Isabelle Brazier, his children, Lola Hillman, Dr. Byron T.
13Brazier (pastor of the Apostolic Church of God), Janice Dortch,
14and Rosalyn Shepherd; his 7 grandchildren, and his 11
15great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
18mourn, along with his family, friends, and congregation, the
19passing of Bishop Arthur Brazier; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the family of Bishop Arthur Brazier as a symbol of
22our sincere sympathy.