Bill Text: IL SR0290 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizes Reginald Edwin Petty on his service as a trailblazing advocate for civil rights. Wishes him continued success in his endeavors.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-05-15 - Resolution Adopted [SR0290 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SR0290-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
recognize Reginald Edwin Petty on his service as a
trailblazing advocate for civil rights; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty, who hails from East St. Louis,
earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology and
secondary education from Southern Illinois University
Carbondale in 1956 and 1963, respectively; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty became an activist in the 1960s;
he joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), where he worked alongside civil rights icons John
Lewis and Dick Gregory, and he was arrested more than 30 times
while registering Black voters in the Deep South, evidence of
his profound commitment to justice and civil rights; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty's impact expanded on a global
level when he was recruited by Sargent Shriver to join the
Peace Corps in 1966; he became one of its first African
American country directors, and he served in the Republic of
Upper Volta, known today as Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Kenya,
and the Seychelles; his work in these newly independent
nations helped establish sustainable development, education
programs, and cross-cultural understanding; and

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WHEREAS, Reginald Petty has held numerous U.S.
Presidential appointments, including executive director of the
National Advisory Council on Vocational Education
(N.A.C.V.E.), regional director of VISTA's Region II, which
included New York, New Jersey, and the Virgin Islands,
executive director of the African Development Foundation, and
director of the National Research Center; as director of
research for both N.A.C.V.E. and Westinghouse Learning
Corporation, he published a national vocational education
study that spanned three years of data; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty, as a passionate educator and
researcher, has continued sharing his knowledge with schools
and communities, often through his extensive collection of
African art; his collection has been featured at SIU's
University Museum in 2002 and 2020, serving as educational
tools to bridge African and African American heritage; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty has focused on local
revitalization since his return to East St. Louis, and he has
led the Local Neighborhood Opportunity program and the
preservation of the city's history; he co-authored Legendary
East St. Louisans: An African American Series, which honors
hometown heroes such as Miles Davis and Jackie Joyner-Kersee,
and he rescued thousands of books from a closed library to

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safeguard access to knowledge for future generations; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty still advocates for justice; at a
2020 Black Lives Matter rally, he inspired young activists
from his wheelchair with a megaphone in hand, reminding them
that the fight for justice is a relay and the baton must be
passed; as the founder of the East St. Louis Historical
Society, he led a re-enactment of the 1917 NAACP Silent
Protest Parade with local citizens on the event's 107th
anniversary in 2024; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty and his life's work of advocating
for civil rights is the subject of the 2022 book, The Pandemic
Prophet - The Legacy of Reginald E. Petty; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty is the husband of Edna
Patterson-Petty, the father of Anthony, Joel, and Amina Petty,
and the grandfather of several; and
WHEREAS, Reginald Petty's legacy is one of relentless
service, intellectual excellence, and transformational
leadership; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Reginald
Edwin Petty on his service as a trailblazing advocate for

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civil rights, and we wish him continued success in his
endeavors; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to Reginald Petty as an expression of our esteem and
respect.