Bill Text: IL SR0384 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designates May 8, 2019 as Alpha Phi Alpha day in the State of Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-05-31 - Resolution Adopted [SR0384 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SR0384-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, was
founded on December 4, 1906 by seven college men, respectfully
known as the "Seven Jewels," on the campus of Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York and became the first
intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for
African Americans; and
WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels of the Fraternity, Henry Arthur
Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George
Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle,
and Vertner Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong
bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country
and the need to help correct the educational, economic,
political, and social injustices faced by African Americans and
other people of color; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and
support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice,
both educationally and socially, at Cornell University; the
Jewel Founders and early leaders of the Fraternity succeeded in
laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's principles of
scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of
humanity; and

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WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its
members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently
supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of African
Americans and people of color and to issues of civil rights
around the world; and
WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds,
scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop
leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and
provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified
through its national programs which include "Go to High School,
Go to College," which focuses on the educational achievement of
students in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools
and has given thousands of dollars in scholarship funds to
deserving students, "Project Alpha," which teaches teenage
pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted disease
prevention to young males, and its "A Voteless People is a
Hopeless People" campaign, a voter registration and education
program through which thousands of voters have been educated
and registered; the Fraternity also focuses on providing
service through its strategic partnerships with Big Brothers
Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America, the March of Dimes, the
American Heart/American Stroke Association, and the American
Cancer Society; and

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WHEREAS, For over 112 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has played a
fundamental role in the positive development of the character
and education of more than 200,000 men around the world; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 700 college and alumni
chapters in the United States of America, Africa, Asia, the
Caribbean, and Europe; this total includes 141 chapters in the
Midwestern Region, including 32 in Illinois; Alpha Phi Alpha's
presence started in Illinois with the founding of the first
college chapter in Illinois, the Theta Chapter in 1910, and the
first alumni chapter, the Xi Lambda Chapter in 1924, both in
Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include many noteworthy
leaders in the areas of government, business, entertainment,
science, and higher education, including Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John Hope Franklin, John
H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew Young, Robert Smith,
and Cornel West; its membership also includes federal, State,
and local elected officials, including U.S. Representative
Danny K. Davis, former U.S. Senators Edward Brook and Roland
Burris, former State Senator Donne E. Trotter, former State
Representative Al Riley, former Cook County Board Presidents
John and Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago Eugene
Sawyer, among countless others who have long stood at the

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forefront of the fight for civil and human rights and social
change for all Americans; and
WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha members have served in the
Illinois General Assembly, including the following members of
the 101st General Assembly: Representatives Justin Slaughter,
Arthur Turner Jr., Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and Senator Elgie R.
Sims Jr, who also served as the 26th Vice President of the
Midwestern Region; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha continues to enrich the lives of
its members, who, in turn, provide service and advocacy for the
communities they serve; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the 2019
Alpha Phi Alpha Day held at the Illinois State Capitol and
welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha to the Capitol; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That we declare the date of May 8, 2019 as Alpha
Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor of Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued impact on the
communities it serves.