Bill Text: IL HR0079 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares February 28, 2023 as Black Women's History Day in the State of Illinois to honor the accomplishments, power, beauty, courage, intelligence, ingenuity, stewardship, and leadership of Black women. Encourages all Illinoisans and their families to acknowledge, in word and in deed, the accomplishments of Black women in places where they live, work, and play, because doing so recognizes Black women's history as American history.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-29 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin [HR0079 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0079-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to honor Black women, their
accomplishments, and their contributions to the history of the
United States; and
WHEREAS, Black women have shaped and molded U.S. history
in innumerable and irrefutable ways, from the moment they
arrived by means of the Middle Passage as slave labor to their
arrival in the White House as the vice president of the United
States; and
WHEREAS, Even in the face of unimaginable racism rooted in
our violent origins in America, and continued for over 400
years, Black women have risen above their circumstances in the
face of adversity, not just to survive but also to thrive,
imagine, create, achieve, inspire, and excel; and
WHEREAS, Black women have been the bedrock of the
community, the foundation of the family, the cornerstone of
the Black church, the innovator, the explorer, the
entrepreneur, and so much more; and
WHEREAS, Instead of accepting discrimination as their
reality, Black women have instead built, created, developed,

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implemented, spearheaded, and maintained guilds, sororities,
non-profit organizations, clubs, scholarship foundations,
medical associations, and philanthropic affiliations that have
uplifted, improved, inspired, and supported multitudes of
communities with diverse needs; and
WHEREAS, It is time to celebrate "Mama" and the ancestors
who taught Black women to be strong, resourceful, and to do
good for the greater good; and
WHEREAS, Black women nurture, guide, mentor, and inspire
as they rise to unimaginable heights, overcoming intentional
and systemic barriers; as Black women soar, communities are
uplifted, and we all benefit; and
WHEREAS, Black women have excelled in all areas of life,
including but not limited to journalism, education, medicine,
art, law and government, and business; this is exemplified in
the lives of Black women who hail from the State of Illinois,
such as Dr. Carol Adams, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Rev. Willie
Barrow, United States Ambassador and Senator Carol Moseley
Braun, Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Burroughs, Bessie Coleman,
Rev. Johnnie Coleman, Marva Collins, Lorraine Hansbury, Vivian
Harsh, Jennifer Hudson, Mahalia Jackson, Mae Jemison, Jackie
Joyner-Kersee, Chaka Khan, Annie Turnbo Malone, Mamie Till
Mobley, Diane Nash, Michelle Obama, Shonda Rhimes, Georgiana

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Simpson, Jacqueline Vaughn, and Oprah Winfrey; and
WHEREAS, Black women have stood in solidarity with women
and men of all backgrounds, sexual orientations, races,
religious affiliations, and ethnicities across Illinois, the
United States, and the world in an effort to demand parity and
equity of all human beings in all areas of life; and
WHEREAS, February 28th intentionally connects the
nationally recognized months of February with Black History
Month and March with Women's History Month, uplifting the
unique intersectionality of race and gender of being both
Black and a woman; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we declare February 28, 2023 as Black Women's History Day in
the State of Illinois to honor the accomplishments, power,
beauty, courage, intelligence, ingenuity, stewardship, and
leadership of Black women; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage all Illinoisans and their
families to acknowledge, in word and in deed, the
accomplishments of Black women in places where they live,
work, and play, because doing so recognizes Black women's
history as American history.