Full Text of SR1276 102nd General Assembly
SR1276 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Alice Ruth Clark Brown, who passed | 4 | | away on June 6, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Alice Brown was born Alice Ruth Clark to Charles | 6 | | and Mattie Clark in Chicago on August 22, 1952; a product of | 7 | | Burke Elementary School, she blossomed into a stellar student | 8 | | at DuSable High School; in 2004, she earned a Bachelor of Arts | 9 | | in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago;
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, As an Andy Frain usher, Alice Brown was noticed | 11 | | by an official for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus;
a | 12 | | year later, in 1972, she became the first Black | 13 | | dancer/aerialist in Ringling's Blue Unit, which was one of the | 14 | | circus' two touring companies;
she enjoyed recounting nights | 15 | | of riding elephants and days of living on the circus train, | 16 | | visiting major metropolitan cities and small towns along the | 17 | | way;
she and two other Ringling performers were once | 18 | | interviewed on national television by Barbara Walters; after | 19 | | three years, she left the circus;
soon thereafter, she became | 20 | | a tour guide at Johnson Publishing Co.'s headquarters in | 21 | | Chicago, where she met her future husband, journalist Geoffrey | 22 | | F. Brown; they married on June 4, 1977 and had two children;
| 23 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, After moving with her family to Oak Park in 1986, | 2 | | Alice Brown began to pursue creative endeavors, acting, music, | 3 | | and writing; in 1993, she portrayed Nettie in the original | 4 | | cast of the Black Ensemble Theater's production of Precious | 5 | | Lord, Take My Hand; later, she sang at jazz open microphone | 6 | | events across the Chicago area with the stage name "Brandee" | 7 | | Brown; she played piano for several semesters with the Triton | 8 | | Community College jazz band; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Alice Brown had a passion for writing, and she | 10 | | penned short stories, plays, poems and freelance newspaper | 11 | | articles; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Alice Brown's concern for the plights of others | 13 | | led her to training for substance abuse counseling; she also | 14 | | donated time to a domestic abuse hot line;; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Alice Brown was a proud member and vice president | 16 | | of the DuSable High School Alumni Coalition; in large part due | 17 | | to the coalition's efforts, the City of Chicago granted the | 18 | | high school campus landmark status in 2013; she moderated a | 19 | | conversation with renowned historian, activist, and educator | 20 | | Timuel D. Black for the Illinois Humanities Council about the | 21 | | legacy of DuSable High School in 2018, as he was in the | 22 | | school's first graduating class in 1937; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Alice Brown is survived by her husband; her son, | 2 | | Geoffrey Jr.; her daughter, Christina; her brother, Gerry; her | 3 | | sister, Anna; her niece, Shana; and several cousins; | 4 | | therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 6 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
| 7 | | Alice Ruth Clark Brown and extend our sincere
condolences to | 8 | | her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
her; and be it | 9 | | further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 11 | | presented to the family of Alice Brown as an expression of
our | 12 | | deepest sympathy.
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