Bill Text: IL HR1101 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Mourns the death of Rev. Dr. James Hal Cone.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-05-21 - Resolution Adopted [HR1101 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HR1101-Introduced.html

---

HR1101 LRB100 22077 MST 40320 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Dr.
James Hal Cone, who passed away on April 28, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Cone was born in Fordyce, Arkansas; he
attended Shorter College and graduated from Philander Smith
College in Little Rock in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts; he
graduated from Garrett Theological Seminary with a Bachelor of
Divinity in 1961 and received his Master of Arts from
Northwestern University in 1963; two years later, a Ph.D. was
conferred on him by Northwestern University; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Cone is known as the father of black
liberation theology; he joined Union Theological Seminary in
the City of New York in 1969 and was promoted to full professor
of theology in 1973; he was named the Bill & Judith Moyers
Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology in 2017; he
researched and taught Christian theology, with special
attention to black liberation theology and the liberation
theologies of Africa, Asia, and Latin America; he also taught
19th and 20th-century European-American theologies; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Cone is an award-winning author; he penned
Black Theology & Black Power (1969), A Black Theology of

HR1101 - 2 - LRB100 22077 MST 40320 r
Liberation (1970), and God of the Oppressed (1975); his most
recent book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, was awarded the
2018 Grawemeyer Award in Religion; and
WHEREAS, On April 18, 2018, Rev. Cone was elected to the
2018 class of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; among
other numerous awards he received are the American Black
Achievement Award in religion given by Ebony Magazine (November
1992), the Fund for Theological Education Award for
contributions to theological education and scholarship
(November 1999), the Martin E. Marty Award for the Public
Understanding of Religion (2009), and the Eliza Garrett
Distinguished Service Award in recognition of seminal
theological scholarship from Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary (2010); he received 13 honorary degrees, including an
honoris causa from the Institut Protestant de Théologie in
Paris, France; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Cone was an ordained minister in the African
Methodist Episcopal Church; he was listed in the Directory of
American Scholars, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American
Religion, Who's Who Among African Americans, and Who's Who in
the World; he was the author of 12 books and over 150 articles
and lectured at many universities and community organizations
throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin
America, and the Caribbean; and

HR1101 - 3 - LRB100 22077 MST 40320 r
WHEREAS, Rev. Cone was an active member of numerous
professional societies, including the Society for the Study of
Black Religion, the American Academy of Religion, and the
Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) in
the Philippines; he was a founding member of the Society of
Race, Ethnicity, and Religion (SRER); and
WHEREAS, Rev. Cone is survived by his sons, Michael and
Charles; his daughters, Robynn and Krystal; and his
grandchildren, Jolei and Miles; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
mourn the passing of Rev. Dr. James Hal Cone, and extend our
sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
and loved him; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of Rev. Cone as an expression of our
deepest sympathy.