Full Text of HR1161 93rd General Assembly
HR1161 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The faculty, staff,
students, parents, and alumni | 3 |
| of Wendell Phillips High School, the oldest African-American | 4 |
| high school in Chicago, are celebrating the school's 100th | 5 |
| anniversary in 2004; and
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| WHEREAS, Wendell Phillips High School, which opened on | 7 |
| September 5, 1904, received its name from the great | 8 |
| abolitionist who openly criticized Abraham Lincoln for | 9 |
| delaying the emancipation of slaves; born in 1811, Wendell | 10 |
| Phillips spent nearly fifty years of his life championing the | 11 |
| fight against slavery, the ill-treatment of Native Americans, | 12 |
| equal pay and wages for women, and better working conditions | 13 |
| for all employed persons; and
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| WHEREAS, As a culmination of the Diamond Jubilee | 15 |
| celebration of 1979, Mr. Raymond McCants, Sr. led a committee | 16 |
| to dedicate and designate the school's main corridor as the | 17 |
| Hall of Fame; the photographs of many role models appear in the | 18 |
| Wendell Phillips Hall of Fame, including: Nettie Hayden | 19 |
| Baldwin; Alderman William Barnett; Timuel D. Black, Jr., | 20 |
| educator, historian, and noted author; Honorable Archibald | 21 |
| Carey, Jr.; Nat "King" Cole; Sam Cooke; Thomas A. Dorsey, | 22 |
| musical composer of the famous spiritual, "Precious Lord"; The | 23 |
| Duster Family, descendants of Ida B. Wells; Alderman Wilson | 24 |
| Frost; Marla "Florence" Gibbs; George Johnson; John H. Johnson; | 25 |
| David W. Kellum, long known as "Bud Billiken" who served as | 26 |
| head cheerleader for all teams; Annie Lee, noted artist; Dr. | 27 |
| Loretta Hall Martin, former student, teacher, and current Hall | 28 |
| of Fame Chairperson; James D. Montgomery, Sr.; boxing champion, | 29 |
| Lee Roy Murphy; Silas Parnell, who for many years assisted | 30 |
| generations of students in obtaining scholarships to colleges | 31 |
| around the country; Dr. Annabelle Carey Prescott, former | 32 |
| student and teacher at Phillips; Honorable Albert S. Porter; | 33 |
| Roebuck "Pop" Staples; Dinah Washington; Dr. Irvin B. Watkins; |
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| and Claude "Buddy" Young; and
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| WHEREAS, Mrs. Maudell Brown Bousfield simultaneously | 3 |
| became Chicago's first African-American public school | 4 |
| principal and served as principal of Wendell Phillips from 1939 | 5 |
| to 1950; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The school's championship basketball team was | 7 |
| drafted by Mr. Abe Saperstein to form the "original" nucleus of | 8 |
| the world renowned Harlem Globetrotters; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Major repairs and improvements to the school began | 10 |
| in the middle and late 1990s; the administration, community | 11 |
| leaders, parents, and political representatives all worked | 12 |
| together to lobby for major repairs and, as a result, major | 13 |
| external repairs and improvements were completed; a | 14 |
| Phillips-Mayo campus project added green space and additional | 15 |
| sports facilities; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, The school received landmark status on May 7, | 17 |
| 2003, from Chicago's City Council; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, The Wendell Phillips High School Committee was | 19 |
| formed in December of 2003 to plan and execute a centennial | 20 |
| celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the school | 21 |
| and affirmed its commitment to: development of an endowment | 22 |
| fund to support students in achieving academic excellence and | 23 |
| scholarships; preservation of the cultural artifacts and oral | 24 |
| and written history of the school; establishment of a | 25 |
| tutoring/mentoring core comprised of Phillipsites and others; | 26 |
| retention of the school as a viable educational institution; | 27 |
| and supporting community based school activities; and | 28 |
| WHEREAS, The present administration and community leaders | 29 |
| have worked diligently to update computer facilities, improve | 30 |
| the library, and provide Internet access to the students; more |
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| improvements are in the planning stage; Wendell Phillips High | 2 |
| School (designated Wendell Phillips Academy High School | 3 |
| effective the 1997-98 school year) is striding into the new | 4 |
| millennium to meet the needs of its students; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 6 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 7 |
| hereby commemorate Wendell Phillips High School's 100th | 8 |
| anniversary, we recognize the school's many contributions to | 9 |
| the education and development of the children of Chicago, and | 10 |
| we extend to all those connected with the school our sincere | 11 |
| best wishes for continued success in the years to come; and be | 12 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 |
| presented to Wendell Phillips High School and the Wendell | 15 |
| Phillips High School Centennial Committee as an expression of | 16 |
| our esteem.
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