Full Text of SR0682 093rd General Assembly
SR0682 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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LRB093 23431 HSS 53419 r |
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with deep regret of the death of Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming | 4 |
| Palmer Jr. of Chicago on Sunday, September 12, 2004; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, For most of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the voice | 6 |
| and pen of Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming Palmer Jr. were synonymous | 7 |
| with the battle cry of black power; his message was passionate, | 8 |
| agitated, and often angry, but he is also remembered as a | 9 |
| sometimes soft-spoken man; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer's most significant legacy was being the | 11 |
| man behind the slogan "We Shall See in '83" that mobilized | 12 |
| black voters to elect Harold Washington as the Chicago's first | 13 |
| black mayor; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, He is remembered as a very effective communicator | 15 |
| and a forceful advocate for Chicago's African-American | 16 |
| community, as a persuasive writer, a fine public speaker, and | 17 |
| an excellent political strategist; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer was born in Newport News, Virginia to | 19 |
| Lutrelle and Virginia Palmer; he graduated from Virginia Union | 20 |
| University, and went on to earn a master's degree from Syracuse | 21 |
| University; he also attended the University of Iowa, but prior | 22 |
| to completion of his degree moved to Fisk University in | 23 |
| Tennessee, where he headed the communications department; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer moved to Chicago in 1950 and got a job | 25 |
| at the Chicago Defender; he held other newspaper jobs, | 26 |
| including a stint at the Chicago American, where he worked the | 27 |
| overnight shift, before landing a job at the Daily News in the | 28 |
| 1960s; and | 29 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer spoke out when Black Panthers Fred |
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| Hampton and Mark Clark were slain in 1969 by Chicago Police in | 2 |
| a nighttime raid directed by State's Attorney Edward V. | 3 |
| Hanrahan; he resigned from the Daily News on January 15, 1973, | 4 |
| the birthday of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.; he said | 5 |
| his departure was due to several incidents where his copy was | 6 |
| altered or his column was changed or killed; following his | 7 |
| resignation, the Chicago Newspaper Guild gave him an award for | 8 |
| his service to the newspaper industry for his "effective voice | 9 |
| in the press and radio for the needs of the black community"; | 10 |
| and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer founded an independent paper, the | 12 |
| X-Press; the first paper hit the streets on May 9, the birthday | 13 |
| of Malcolm X; it closed in 1974; a strident black nationalist, | 14 |
| he founded the Chicago Black United Communities in 1979 and the | 15 |
| Black Independent Political Organization in 1981; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, His passing has been deeply felt by many, | 17 |
| especially his wife, Jorja English Palmer; his daughters, | 18 |
| Trudy, Darien Simon, and Karen English; his sons, Lu Palmer III | 19 |
| and Jamie English Jr.; his five grandchildren; and his two | 20 |
| great-grandchildren; therefore, be it | 21 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 22 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 23 |
| Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming Palmer Jr., a man who will be remembered | 24 |
| as one of the ablest spokesman for freedom and justice for | 25 |
| African Americans; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 27 |
| presented to the family of Mr. Palmer as an expression of our | 28 |
| sincerest condolences.
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