Bill Text: IL HR0684 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares the month of June 2022 as Caribbean-American Heritage Month in the State of Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-03-15 - Resolution Adopted [HR0684 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HR0684-Introduced.html

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HR0684 LRB102 26439 LAW 36802 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, People of Caribbean heritage are found in every
state across the country; and
WHEREAS, During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a
significant number of Africans who had been held in the
Caribbean region were brought to the United States and
enslaved; and
WHEREAS, During those same centuries, some native people
from the United States were deported to the Caribbean; and
WHEREAS, The countries of the Caribbean, much like the
United States, faced obstacles of slavery and colonialism and
struggled for independence; and
WHEREAS, The people of the Caribbean region, also similar
to the United States, have diverse racial, cultural, and
religious backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, During the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries,
Caribbean immigrants have faced economic crises in their
countries and so have chosen to come to the United States for
better economic and educational opportunities; and

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WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have become leaders in every
sector of the country while maintaining the varied traditions
of their countries of origin; and
WHEREAS, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first female
vice president of the United States, is of Jamaican heritage;
and
WHEREAS, Colin Powell, the first African-American
Secretary of State who additionally served as the United
States National Security Advisor and chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, was of Jamaican heritage; and
WHEREAS, Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay, the writer and
poet who became a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance,
was born in Jamaica; and
WHEREAS, James Weldon Johnson, Harlem Renaissance poet and
author of the Black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and
Sing", was of Bahamian and Haitian heritage; and
WHEREAS, Celia Cruz, the late famous Salsa singer, was
born in Cuba; and
WHEREAS, Midwin Charles, a former attorney and legal
analyst for CNN and MSNBC, was of Haitian heritage; and

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WHEREAS, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the chair of the Health
Equity Task Force under the Biden administration, hails from
St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and
WHEREAS, Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to receive
the Academy Award for Best Actor, was of Bahamian heritage;
and
WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman
and the first Black woman to run for president, was of
Barbadian and Guyanese heritage; and
WHEREAS, Carlos Juan Finlay, the epidemiologist who
discovered that Yellow Fever was transmitted by the Stegomyia
aegypti mosquito, was Cuban; and
WHEREAS, Oscar de la Renta, the late fashion designer, was
born in the Dominican Republic; and
WHEREAS, Malcolm X, the late Nation of Islam spokesman,
was of Grenadian heritage; and
WHEREAS, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black pioneer
and recognized founder of Chicago, was born in Haiti; and

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WHEREAS, Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer and civil
rights activist, is of Jamaican and Martinican heritage; and
WHEREAS, Marcus Garvey, the Black nationalist movement
leader, was born in Jamaica; and
WHEREAS, John Russwurm, the first Black editor of a U.S.
newspaper and the third African-American to graduate from a
U.S. college, was born in Jamaica; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Antonia Novello, the first female U.S.
Surgeon General, hails from Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS, Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman
appointed to the federal bench, was of Nevisian heritage; and
WHEREAS, Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the U.S.
Treasury, was born on Nevis; and
WHEREAS, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, is
of Kittitians and Jamaican heritage; and
WHEREAS, Stokley Carmichael, the late Black Power
activist, was born in Trinidad; and
WHEREAS, Kelsey Grammer, the Emmy-winning actor of the

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sitcom Frasier, hails from St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin
Islands; and
WHEREAS, Dr. William Thornton, the British-American
physician and architect who designed the U.S. Capitol, was
born on Jost van Dyke of the British Virgin Islands; and
WHEREAS, A number of Caribbean-American leaders are based
in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Marie Lynn Toussaint, the Cook County Assistant
Public Defender and chairperson of the Haitian Congress to
Fortify Haiti, is of Haitian heritage; and
WHEREAS, Cesar Rolon, a leader of the community
organization Illinois Unidos, which addresses COVID-19 in
Latin communities, is of Puerto Rican heritage; and
WHEREAS, Rafael Nunez-Cedeno, the founder and president of
the Dominican American Midwest Association, is of Dominican
heritage; and
WHEREAS, Anton and Anthony Downing, Chicago firefighters
and house flippers, are of Bahamian heritage; and
WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have contributed greatly to

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education, the fine arts, business, literature, journalism,
sports, fashion, politics, the government, the military,
music, science, technology, and other areas in the United
States; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we declare the month of June 2022 as Caribbean-American
Heritage Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel
"Chris" Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, House Minority
Leader Jim Durkin, and Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie.