Full Text of SR0895 102nd General Assembly
SR0895 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE 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 University | 5 | | in Ithaca, New York and became the first intercollegiate | 6 | | Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African | 7 | | 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 founders and early leaders of the Fraternity | 20 | | succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's | 21 | | principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the | 22 | | 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, which include "Go to High | 12 | | School, Go to College," a program focused on the educational | 13 | | achievement of students in elementary, secondary, and | 14 | | post-secondary schools that has given thousands of dollars in | 15 | | scholarship funds to deserving students, "Project Alpha," a | 16 | | program that teaches teenage pregnancy prevention and sexually | 17 | | transmitted disease prevention to young males, and the "A | 18 | | Voteless People is a Hopeless People" campaign, a voter | 19 | | registration and education program through which thousands of | 20 | | voters have been educated and registered; the Fraternity also | 21 | | focuses on providing service through its strategic | 22 | | partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of | 23 | | America, the March of Dimes, the American Heart/American | 24 | | Stroke Association, and the American Cancer Society; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, For over 115 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 United States of America, Africa, Asia, the | 6 | | Caribbean, and Europe; this total includes 141 chapters in the | 7 | | Midwestern Region, including 32 in Illinois; its presence | 8 | | started in Illinois with the founding of the Theta Chapter in | 9 | | 1910, the first college chapter in Illinois, and the Xi Lambda | 10 | | Chapter in 1924, the first alumni chapter, both in Chicago; | 11 | | 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; of the 102nd General Assembly, | 6 | | those members include Representative Justin Slaughter, Speaker | 7 | | of the House of Representatives Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and | 8 | | Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr., who also served as the 26th vice | 9 | | 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 SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare March 16, | 15 | | 2022 as Alpha Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor | 16 | | of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued | 17 | | impact on the communities it serves; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That we welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha | 19 | | to the Illinois State Capitol on Alpha Phi Alpha Day.
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