Full Text of HR0150 103rd General Assembly
HR0150 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Josie B. | 4 | | Childs of Chicago, who passed away on February 13, 2023; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs was a vibrant, no-nonsense, dynamic, | 6 | | and highly engaging 96-year-old South Side Chicagoan whose | 7 | | entire life encompassed both a historical and present-day | 8 | | living memoir of influential, insightful, and inspirational | 9 | | importance; she was a beloved citizen, a faithful woman, a | 10 | | friend of multitudes, and the founder and president of the | 11 | | Chicago-based nonprofit, the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy | 12 | | Committee (MHWLC); further, she was an exemplary woman who was | 13 | | celebrated and widely respected as a civic institution by | 14 | | generations of Chicagoans for her visionary leadership, | 15 | | serving as inspiration to multigenerational trailblazers of | 16 | | political, business, and community leaders, emerging, | 17 | | next-generation advocates, and future change-agents; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs was born to Julia Brown and Charles | 19 | | Washington in Clarksdale, Mississippi on October 13, 1926; her | 20 | | grandparents were Black southern landowners and teachers; | 21 | | although born in Clarksdale, she grew up in Memphis, Tennessee | 22 | | and Vicksburg, Tennessee; after graduating high school and | 23 | | attending LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, she |
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| 1 | | moved to Chicago in the late 1940s and married James "Jack" | 2 | | Childs Sr., who preceded her in death; she was a founding | 3 | | member of The Congregational Church of Park Manor, UCC, where | 4 | | both she and her husband were lifelong members until their | 5 | | respective passing; they were worldwide travelers, partners in | 6 | | church, social, and civic activities, and lovers of fine | 7 | | dining, the theater, the arts, card games, and jazz music; | 8 | | their massive dining room table served as the setting for the | 9 | | coordination and implementation of many successful Chicago | 10 | | political campaigns, civic engagement and community plans, and | 11 | | other events; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs worked on the congressional | 13 | | campaigns of Abner Mikva, Ralph Metcalfe, Rod Blagojevich, and | 14 | | Harold Washington; she was an Illinois organizer for the | 15 | | presidential campaigns of Adlai Stevenson Sr., John F. | 16 | | Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter; she was also an | 17 | | Illinois Democratic delegate at the 1980 Democratic National | 18 | | Convention (DNC) in New York City; she worked with the late | 19 | | Honorable Harold Washington on his original 1977 mayoral | 20 | | campaign and his successful 1983 mayoral campaign; following | 21 | | his historic election, she served in administrative positions | 22 | | with the City of Chicago's Special Events and Cultural Affairs | 23 | | departments for many years; and
| 24 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs served as a passionate, stabilizing |
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| 1 | | social force during turbulent times in Chicago and the United | 2 | | States, when rampant social change was on the horizon | 3 | | virtually every week, and into recent similar civic | 4 | | incursions; while simultaneously fighting for causes in which | 5 | | she believed, she additionally advised, nurtured, and | 6 | | represented new generations of Black and multicultural | 7 | | activist objectors from the neighborhoods of Chicago; over the | 8 | | years, her reputation for dedication, fairness, integrity, and | 9 | | accuracy grew exponentially; she was also revered for her deep | 10 | | personal concern and commitment to the overall community as | 11 | | well as her unique ability to establish lasting relationships | 12 | | among high-level local and nationally elected public servants, | 13 | | business leaders, and cultural influencers, in addition to | 14 | | everyday community leaders and residents; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs was a cultural, arts-focused, and | 16 | | progressive political firebrand; she exposed many young people | 17 | | to programs she supported at such institutions as Columbia | 18 | | College Chicago, the Goodman Theater, and Harold Washington | 19 | | College; she also encouraged youth to become civic-minded and | 20 | | involved in ongoing efforts of political organizers, striving | 21 | | towards a more just and equitable Chicago; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs remained active throughout her | 23 | | entire life; in 2013, she partnered with a coalition of local | 24 | | political and civic activists to establish the Mayor Harold |
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| 1 | | Washington Legacy Committee (MHWLC), a 501(c)3 nonprofit | 2 | | organization that is an educational and civic engagement | 3 | | entity, which is dedicated to preserving the integrity and | 4 | | authenticity of the progressive policy messages of former | 5 | | Chicago Mayor Harold Washington; through her efforts, the | 6 | | MHWLC established the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy | 7 | | Scholarship at his alma mater, Roosevelt University, among | 8 | | other initiatives, and it continues to amplify the memory and | 9 | | historical legacy of this great political statesman and | 10 | | Chicago's first Black mayor for generations of change-agents | 11 | | today and tomorrow; her date of passing, February 13, 2023, | 12 | | has gained further significance to many local leaders and | 13 | | activists as Chicago concludes its year-long centennial | 14 | | celebration of the late Mayor Harold Washington's birth and as | 15 | | the city approaches the 40th anniversary of his historical | 16 | | 1983 election as Chicago's first Black mayor; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs was involved with many | 18 | | organizations, including the Chicago Urban League, the | 19 | | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People | 20 | | (NAACP), the Board of the Friends of the Chicago Public | 21 | | Library, Planned Parenthood, T.R.U.S.T. Inc., the Board of | 22 | | Know Your Chicago, the Joint Negro Appeal, the National Board | 23 | | of Council on Lay Life and Work, the Duke Ellington Society, | 24 | | the Executive Service Corps, and the Christ Hospital Nursing | 25 | | School; she was also the former president of her condominium |
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| 1 | | board; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs was the recipient of numerous awards | 3 | | and honors; in 2013, she was honored by Congressman Danny K. | 4 | | Davis with the Georgia Palmer Advocacy Award; she was last | 5 | | honored in February of 2019 by the DuSable Museum of | 6 | | African-American History and Comcast as one of the "Voices of | 7 | | the Civil Rights Movement"; she had also recently donated the | 8 | | Josie Brown Childs Papers, a collection of documents | 9 | | consisting of her family history, her political and social | 10 | | advocacy work, and her efforts to promote enhanced awareness | 11 | | of African American cultural and historical achievements, to | 12 | | the Chicago Public Library; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs was exceptionally respected and | 14 | | popular all over the City of Chicago but particularly on the | 15 | | South Side, maintaining an impressively large base of | 16 | | supporters among multicultural coalition groups and women; she | 17 | | was a fierce and vocal advocate for Black political | 18 | | empowerment in Chicago and across the United States and a | 19 | | trailblazing woman focused on power and equality; she | 20 | | possessed a suave, confident persona and a never give up or | 21 | | give in approach, perfected as a longtime South Side resident, | 22 | | aptly earning the title as the "Matriarch of the Movement"; | 23 | | her undeniable passion, contagious spirit, and tireless | 24 | | dedication will be missed; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Josie Childs is survived by her son, James M. | 2 | | (Bonnie Collins) Childs Jr.; her grandchildren, James A. | 3 | | Childs, Claudia L. (Adrien Houndje) Houndje, and Elysia R. (L. | 4 | | Almestica) Childs; her great-grandchildren, Semenou, Mense, | 5 | | Fifa, and Hontongou Houndje; and countless friends, | 6 | | associates, public officials, church members, and admirers; | 7 | | therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 9 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 10 | | we mourn the passing of
Josie B. Childs and extend our sincere
| 11 | | condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved
| 12 | | her; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 14 | | presented to the family of Josie Childs as an expression of
our | 15 | | deepest sympathy.
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