Full Text of HR0203 103rd General Assembly
HR0203 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated was
| 3 | | founded on December 4, 1906 by seven college men, respectfully
| 4 | | known as the "Seven Jewels", on the campus of Cornell
| 5 | | University in Ithaca, New York and became the first
| 6 | | intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for
| 7 | | African Americans; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels of the fraternity, Henry Arthur
| 9 | | Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George
| 10 | | Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle,
| 11 | | and Vertner Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong
| 12 | | bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country
| 13 | | and the need to help correct the educational, economic,
| 14 | | political, and social injustices faced by African Americans | 15 | | and
other people of color; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and
| 17 | | support group for minority students who faced racial | 18 | | prejudice,
both educationally and socially, at Cornell | 19 | | University; the
Jewel founders and early leaders of the | 20 | | fraternity succeeded in
laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi | 21 | | Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, | 22 | | and the uplifting of
humanity; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its
| 2 | | members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently | 3 | | supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of African
| 4 | | Americans and people of color and to issues of civil rights
| 5 | | around the world; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds, | 7 | | scholarship, and love for all mankind; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop
| 9 | | leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and
| 10 | | provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified
| 11 | | through its national programs, including "Go to High School,
| 12 | | Go to College", which focuses on the educational achievement | 13 | | of
students in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary | 14 | | schools
and has given thousands of dollars in scholarship | 15 | | funds to
deserving students, "Project Alpha", which teaches | 16 | | teenage
pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted disease
| 17 | | prevention to young males, and its "A Voteless People is a
| 18 | | Hopeless People" campaign, a voter registration and education
| 19 | | program through which thousands of voters have been educated
| 20 | | and registered; the fraternity also focuses on providing
| 21 | | service through its strategic partnerships with Big Brothers
| 22 | | Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America, the March of Dimes, the
| 23 | | American Heart/American Stroke Association, and the American
| 24 | | Cancer Society; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, For over 116 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has played a
| 2 | | fundamental role in the positive development of the character
| 3 | | and education of more than 200,000 men around the world; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 700 college and alumni
| 5 | | chapters in the U.S., Africa, Asia, the
Caribbean, and Europe; | 6 | | this total includes 141 chapters in the Midwestern Region, and | 7 | | 32 of those chapters are in Illinois; the fraternity's
| 8 | | presence started in Illinois with the founding of the first
| 9 | | college chapter in Illinois, the Theta Chapter, in 1910 and | 10 | | the
first alumni chapter, the Xi Lambda Chapter, in 1924, both | 11 | | in
Chicago; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include many | 13 | | noteworthy
leaders in the areas of government, business, | 14 | | entertainment,
science, and higher education, including Dr. | 15 | | Martin Luther King
Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John | 16 | | Hope Franklin, John
H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew | 17 | | Young, Robert Smith,
and Cornel West; its membership also | 18 | | includes federal, State,
and local elected officials, | 19 | | including U.S. Representative
Danny K. Davis, former U.S. | 20 | | Senators Edward Brook and Roland
Burris, former State Senator | 21 | | Donne E. Trotter, former State
Representative Al Riley, former | 22 | | State Representative Art
Turner Jr., former Cook County Board | 23 | | Presidents John and
Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago |
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| 1 | | Eugene Sawyer,
among countless others who have long stood at | 2 | | the
forefront of the fight for civil and human rights and | 3 | | social
change for all Americans; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha members have served in | 5 | | the
Illinois General Assembly, and members currently serving | 6 | | in the 103rd General Assembly are Representative Justin | 7 | | Slaughter,
Speaker of the House of Representatives Emanuel | 8 | | "Chris" Welch, and Senator
Elgie R. Sims Jr., who also served | 9 | | as the 26th Vice President
of the Midwestern Region; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha continues to enrich the lives of
| 11 | | its members, who, in turn, provide service and advocacy for | 12 | | the communities they serve; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 14 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we recognize the 2023 Alpha Phi Alpha Day held at the Illinois | 16 | | State Capitol and welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha to the | 17 | | Capitol; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That we declare April 19, 2023 as
Alpha Phi | 19 | | Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor of
Alpha Phi Alpha | 20 | | Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued
impact on the | 21 | | communities it serves.
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