Full Text of HR0684 102nd General Assembly
HR0684 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, People of Caribbean heritage are found in every | 3 | | state across the country; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a | 5 | | significant number of Africans who had been held in the | 6 | | Caribbean region were brought to the United States and | 7 | | enslaved; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, During those same centuries, some native people | 9 | | from the United States were deported to the Caribbean; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The countries of the Caribbean, much like the | 11 | | United States, faced obstacles of slavery and colonialism and | 12 | | struggled for independence; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The people of the Caribbean region, also similar | 14 | | to the United States, have diverse racial, cultural, and | 15 | | religious backgrounds; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, During the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, | 17 | | Caribbean immigrants have faced economic crises in their | 18 | | countries and so have chosen to come to the United States for | 19 | | better economic and educational opportunities; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have become leaders in every | 2 | | sector of the country while maintaining the varied traditions | 3 | | of their countries of origin; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first female | 5 | | vice president of the United States, is of Jamaican heritage; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Colin Powell, the first African-American | 8 | | Secretary of State who additionally served as the United | 9 | | States National Security Advisor and chairman of the Joint | 10 | | Chiefs of Staff, was of Jamaican heritage; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay, the writer and | 12 | | poet who became a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, | 13 | | was born in Jamaica; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, James Weldon Johnson, Harlem Renaissance poet and | 15 | | author of the Black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and | 16 | | Sing", was of Bahamian and Haitian heritage; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Celia Cruz, the late famous Salsa singer, was | 18 | | born in Cuba; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Midwin Charles, a former attorney and legal | 20 | | analyst for CNN and MSNBC, was of Haitian heritage; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the chair of the Health | 2 | | Equity Task Force under the Biden administration, hails from | 3 | | St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to receive | 5 | | the Academy Award for Best Actor, was of Bahamian heritage; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman | 8 | | and the first Black woman to run for president, was of | 9 | | Barbadian and Guyanese heritage; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Carlos Juan Finlay, the epidemiologist who | 11 | | discovered that Yellow Fever was transmitted by the Stegomyia | 12 | | aegypti mosquito, was Cuban; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Oscar de la Renta, the late fashion designer, was | 14 | | born in the Dominican Republic; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Malcolm X, the late Nation of Islam spokesman, | 16 | | was of Grenadian heritage; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black pioneer | 18 | | and recognized founder of Chicago, was born in Haiti; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer and civil | 2 | | rights activist, is of Jamaican and Martinican heritage; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Marcus Garvey, the Black nationalist movement | 4 | | leader, was born in Jamaica; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, John Russwurm, the first Black editor of a U.S. | 6 | | newspaper and the third African-American to graduate from a | 7 | | U.S. college, was born in Jamaica; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Antonia Novello, the first female U.S. | 9 | | Surgeon General, hails from Puerto Rico; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman | 11 | | appointed to the federal bench, was of Nevisian heritage; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the U.S. | 13 | | Treasury, was born on Nevis; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, is | 15 | | of Kittitians and Jamaican heritage; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Stokley Carmichael, the late Black Power | 17 | | activist, was born in Trinidad; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Kelsey Grammer, the Emmy-winning actor of the |
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| 1 | | sitcom Frasier, hails from St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin | 2 | | Islands; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Dr. William Thornton, the British-American | 4 | | physician and architect who designed the U.S. Capitol, was | 5 | | born on Jost van Dyke of the British Virgin Islands; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, A number of Caribbean-American leaders are based | 7 | | in Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Marie Lynn Toussaint, the Cook County Assistant | 9 | | Public Defender and chairperson of the Haitian Congress to | 10 | | Fortify Haiti, is of Haitian heritage; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Cesar Rolon, a leader of the community | 12 | | organization Illinois Unidos, which addresses COVID-19 in | 13 | | Latin communities, is of Puerto Rican heritage; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Rafael Nunez-Cedeno, the founder and president of | 15 | | the Dominican American Midwest Association, is of Dominican | 16 | | heritage; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Anton and Anthony Downing, Chicago firefighters | 18 | | and house flippers, are of Bahamian heritage; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have contributed greatly to |
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| 1 | | education, the fine arts, business, literature, journalism, | 2 | | sports, fashion, politics, the government, the military, | 3 | | music, science, technology, and other areas in the United | 4 | | States; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we declare the month of June 2022 as Caribbean-American | 8 | | Heritage Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel | 11 | | "Chris" Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, House Minority | 12 | | Leader Jim Durkin, and Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie.
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