Bill Text: IL HR0325 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognize Maggie Lena Walker, an African-American icon and the first African-American woman to charter and become President of a bank in the United States and the members of The Maggie Walker Community for their years of dedication to the preservation of materials related to the amazing life and legacy of Maggie Walker.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-04-24 - Resolution Adopted [HR0325 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR0325-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, It is important to understand the history of the | ||||||
3 | United States and those who played a significant role in that | ||||||
4 | history, blazing trails for those to come; all too often, some | ||||||
5 | of those figures are lost to history, and so it is fitting to | ||||||
6 | recognize those who dedicate themselves to its preservation; | ||||||
7 | and
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8 | WHEREAS, Maggie Walker was born Maggie Lena Mitchell on | ||||||
9 | July 15, 1864 in Richmond, Virginia, on an estate owned by an | ||||||
10 | abolitionist; her mother was a former slave working at the | ||||||
11 | estate as a cook and her stepfather was the butler; she was | ||||||
12 | educated as a teacher and taught at Lancaster School until her | ||||||
13 | marriage to Armstead Walker Jr. in September of 1886; and
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14 | WHEREAS, At the age of 14, Maggie Walker became a member of | ||||||
15 | the Grand United Order of St. Luke, an African American | ||||||
16 | fraternal organization established to assure proper health | ||||||
17 | care and burial arrangements to its members and to encourage | ||||||
18 | self-help and racial solidarity; in 1899, she became the | ||||||
19 | Executive Secretary-Treasurer; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Maggie Walker began publishing a newsletter, The | ||||||
21 | St. Luke Herald, to increase awareness of the organization and | ||||||
22 | help in the educational work of the Order; the following year, |
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1 | she opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and became its first | ||||||
2 | president; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Maggie Walker spread tools of economic | ||||||
4 | independence in the days of Jim Crow and she hired and trained | ||||||
5 | African American women at a time when even white women | ||||||
6 | struggled for opportunities; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Maggie Walker passed away in Richmond, Virginia on | ||||||
8 | December 15, 1934; her house is now a National Historic Site; | ||||||
9 | and
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10 | WHEREAS, In early 2009, a group of students from the | ||||||
11 | College of William and Mary, while exploring the attic of an | ||||||
12 | old building, came across piles of documents from the 1920s and | ||||||
13 | 1930s from businesses owned by the Order of St. Luke; included | ||||||
14 | in the find were letters to and from Maggie Walker; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Over the next eight years, a group of 16 | ||||||
16 | volunteers, calling themselves The Maggie Walker Community, | ||||||
17 | headed by William and Mary professor Heather Huyck, examined, | ||||||
18 | organized, and preserved the documents; the diverse group of | ||||||
19 | black, white, and Asian women, between the ages of 50 to 89, | ||||||
20 | forged deep bonds while understanding the challenges of race | ||||||
21 | and gender in the early 20th century, especially the role of | ||||||
22 | black women as community builders and organizers; therefore, be |
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1 | it
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2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
3 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
4 | recognize Maggie Lena Walker, an African American icon and the | ||||||
5 | first African American woman to charter and become President of | ||||||
6 | a bank in the United States; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That we salute the members of The Maggie Walker | ||||||
8 | Community for their years of dedication to the preservation of | ||||||
9 | materials related to the amazing life and legacy of Maggie | ||||||
10 | Walker; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | presented to Heather Huyck and The Maggie Walker Community, the | ||||||
13 | Community Bankers Association of Illinois, the Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
14 | Presidential Library and Museum, the National Museum of | ||||||
15 | African-American History and Culture, the National Civil | ||||||
16 | Rights Museum, the Springfield African-American Historical | ||||||
17 | Museum, and the DuSable Museum of African-American History as a | ||||||
18 | symbol of our esteem and respect.
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