Bill Text: IL HR1021 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates Reverend Dr. Albert "Al" Sampson on the occasion of his 88th birthday on November 27, 2026. Commends his remarkable lifetime of ministry, civil rights activism, community leadership, and service to the people of the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the nation. Thanks him for continuing to remind everyone that the work of justice is inherited by every generation.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-08-28 - Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Kam Buckner [HR1021 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HR1021-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to congratulate Reverend Dr. Albert "Al"
Sampson on the occasion of his 88th birthday on November 27,
2026, and we wish to commend his extraordinary lifetime of
ministry, civil rights leadership, community organizing, and
service to the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and
communities around the world; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson was born in Everett,
Massachusetts on November 27, 1938; he graduated from Everett
High School in 1956, where he distinguished himself as a
gifted orator; he received a bachelor's degree in religion and
social science from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina
in 1963; he continued his education in Illinois, earning a
Master of Cultural Studies from Governors State University in
1973 and a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological
Seminary in 1977; he later received a Doctor of Divinity from
Union Baptist Theological Seminary; and
WHEREAS, While at Shaw University, Rev. Dr. Sampson served
as student body president and held leadership roles in the
NAACP at the campus, city, and state levels; he participated
in the student sit-in movement in Raleigh, during which time
he was arrested for the cause of equal rights, and he helped

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advance what was described as the first public accommodations
legislation in North Carolina history; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson joined the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1962, becoming part of the
generation of young ministers and organizers whose courage and
discipline helped reshape the moral and political landscape of
the United States; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson was personally ordained by Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church in
Atlanta, Georgia in 1966, becoming the only member of the SCLC
staff to be personally ordained by Rev. Dr. King; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson worked alongside many of the
most consequential leaders of the Civil Rights Movement,
including Rev. C.T. Vivian, Rev. Ralph David Abernathy Sr.,
and Rev. James Bevel, and he studied community organizing
under Saul Alinsky; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson helped organize Resurrection
City during Rev. Dr. King's Poor People's Campaign, and he
served the SCLC in a number of important capacities, including
as national housing director to work on advancing affordable
housing as an essential component of economic and racial
justice; and

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WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson played a prominent role in
political empowerment efforts across the nation, including his
work connected to the elections of Leroy Johnson, Georgia's
first African American state senator since the Reconstruction
era, and Carl Stokes, the first African American mayor of a
major U.S. city; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson made Chicago a central home for
his ministry and activism, becoming pastor of Fernwood United
Methodist Church in 1975 and building a ministry rooted not
only in faith but also in economic development, political
participation, housing, education, and community
self-determination; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson's commitment to the City of
Chicago, including his work with the Task Force for Black
Political Empowerment, aided in the historic election of
Harold Washington as the city's first African American mayor
in 1983; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Rev. Dr. Sampson has
understood civil rights to include not only access to the
ballot box but also access to economic opportunity and
ownership; his work has included leadership in organizations
dedicated to Black farmers, agribusiness, community

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development, senior citizens, social entrepreneurship, and the
economic advancement of African American communities; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson has served as a biblical scholar
and theological consultant, including his work on The Original
African Heritage Study Bible, and his ministry and teachings
have reached audiences throughout the U.S. and around the
world; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson has been commended for the
indelible mark he has made on American society; in 2006, four
decades after his ordination by Rev. Dr. King, he was inducted
into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Board of
Preachers, Sponsors, and Collegium Scholars and the
International Hall of Honor at Morehouse College in
recognition of his dedication to a life spent carrying forward
the work and values of the movement in which he came of age;
and
WHEREAS, Across more than six decades of ministry and
public service, Rev. Dr. Sampson has demonstrated that faith
must be accompanied by work, political freedom must be joined
by economic opportunity, and each generation bears
responsibility for carrying the struggle for justice forward;
and

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WHEREAS, At the age of 88, Rev. Dr. Sampson stands as a
living bridge between the Civil Rights Movement and the
generations that have followed, bearing firsthand witness to
history while continuing to challenge communities and leaders
to build upon the sacrifices of those who came before them;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate Reverend Dr. Albert "Al" Sampson on the
occasion of his 88th birthday on November 27, 2026, commend
his remarkable lifetime of ministry, civil rights activism,
community leadership, and service to the people of the City of
Chicago, the State of Illinois, and the nation, and thank him
for continuing to remind everyone that the work of justice is
inherited by every generation; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to Rev. Dr. Sampson as an expression of our esteem
and respect.