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92_HR0037
LRB9205230RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to recognize individuals whose
4 lives have made valuable contributions to the cause of
5 freedom; and
6 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela's courage and leadership
7 abilities have triumphed over the years of political
8 harrassment, severe personal pain and a wave of media
9 controversy to enable her to become President of the African
10 National Congress Women's League; and
11 WHEREAS, Nomzamo Nobandla Winnifred Mandela was born on
12 September 26, 1936; she was the first black in South Africa
13 to earn a degree in social work; she married her husband,
14 Nelson Mandela, in 1958; and she is the mother to two
15 daughters: Zenani and Zindziwe; and
16 WHEREAS, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life
17 imprisonment in 1964 and remained in prison for 26 years; and
18 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela is a survivor known for her
19 steadfast, lifelong devotion to one of the 20th century's
20 most complex, violent and affecting political movements: the
21 struggle to eliminate apartheid in South Africa; during her
22 husband's imprisonment, she was the symbol of the damage
23 wrought by her country's race-based policies and she
24 continued the battle against these policies in ways that her
25 husband could not; and
26 WHEREAS, Despite being banned by the government, Winnie
27 Mandela continued her involvement with the African National
28 Congress on behalf of her husband; she faced a number of
29 torments for her activities in support of the anti-apartheid
30 ideology of the African National Congress including seventeen
31 months in solitary confinement; the cost of her political
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1 beliefs led her South African supporters to refer to her as
2 the "Mother of the Nation"; and
3 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela was elected president of the
4 African National Congress Women's League in 1993; she is one
5 of the most prominent members of the South African Parliament
6 and still remains true to her ideals of equality and justice
7 for all people of South Africa; and
8 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela has worked tirelessly to empower
9 and develop the disadvantaged and displaced communities of
10 South Africa; among her achievements include the
11 establishment of the Coordinated and Anti-Poverty Program
12 whose mission is to: alleviate abject poverty by providing
13 educational facilities; set up satellite industries to
14 facilitate access to funding resources; provide decent
15 housing and water; provide health centers and post-traumatic
16 counseling to counter the after effects of violence; and
17 provide training programs in the fields of health, AIDS
18 prevention, legal and business development; and
19 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela is committed to the eradication
20 of poverty among women in rural areas of South Africa; she is
21 seeking funds to establish shelter and care for orphans of
22 AIDS victims in South Africa; and
23 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela still mourns the lives of the
24 hundreds of school children lost in the fight against
25 apartheid in Sowetto in 1976; she passionately feels that
26 they should still be recognized and remembered; during her
27 upcoming American tour she will use the funds that are raised
28 to finance a monument to memorialize those who have died in
29 the middle passage and apartheid struggle; and
30 WHEREAS, Winnie Mandela's defense of all South African
31 black men and women, regardless of social or economic status,
32 reflects her continued commitment to the principles and
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1 policies she began to fight over nearly thirty years ago;
2 therefore, be it
3 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5 we commend Winnie Mandela for her continuous and dedicated
6 campaign for equality and justice for all people in South
7 Africa; her contributions have been appreciated not only by
8 the nation of South Africa, but also by the citizens of the
9 world; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11 presented to Winnie Mandela as an expression of our esteem.