Bill Text: IL SR0895 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares March 16, 2022 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.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-08 - Referred to Assignments [SR0895 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SR0895-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, was | ||||||
3 | founded on December 4, 1906 by seven college men, respectfully | ||||||
4 | known as the Seven Jewels, on the campus of Cornell University | ||||||
5 | in Ithaca, New York and became the first intercollegiate | ||||||
6 | Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African | ||||||
7 | Americans; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels of the Fraternity, Henry Arthur | ||||||
9 | Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George | ||||||
10 | Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, | ||||||
11 | and Vertner Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong | ||||||
12 | bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country | ||||||
13 | and the need to help correct the educational, economic, | ||||||
14 | political, and social injustices faced by African Americans | ||||||
15 | and other people of color; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and | ||||||
17 | support group for minority students who faced racial | ||||||
18 | prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell | ||||||
19 | University; the founders and early leaders of the Fraternity | ||||||
20 | succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's | ||||||
21 | principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the | ||||||
22 | uplifting of humanity; and
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1 | WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its | ||||||
2 | members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently | ||||||
3 | supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of African | ||||||
4 | Americans and people of color and to issues of civil rights | ||||||
5 | around the world; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds, | ||||||
7 | scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop | ||||||
9 | leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and | ||||||
10 | provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified | ||||||
11 | through its national programs, which include "Go to High | ||||||
12 | School, Go to College," a program focused on the educational | ||||||
13 | achievement of students in elementary, secondary, and | ||||||
14 | post-secondary schools that has given thousands of dollars in | ||||||
15 | scholarship funds to deserving students, "Project Alpha," a | ||||||
16 | program that teaches teenage pregnancy prevention and sexually | ||||||
17 | transmitted disease prevention to young males, and the "A | ||||||
18 | Voteless People is a Hopeless People" campaign, a voter | ||||||
19 | registration and education program through which thousands of | ||||||
20 | voters have been educated and registered; the Fraternity also | ||||||
21 | focuses on providing service through its strategic | ||||||
22 | partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of | ||||||
23 | America, the March of Dimes, the American Heart/American | ||||||
24 | Stroke Association, and the American Cancer Society; and
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1 | WHEREAS, For over 115 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has played a | ||||||
2 | fundamental role in the positive development of the character | ||||||
3 | and education of more than 200,000 men around the world; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 700 college and alumni | ||||||
5 | chapters in the United States of America, Africa, Asia, the | ||||||
6 | Caribbean, and Europe; this total includes 141 chapters in the | ||||||
7 | Midwestern Region, including 32 in Illinois; its presence | ||||||
8 | started in Illinois with the founding of the Theta Chapter in | ||||||
9 | 1910, the first college chapter in Illinois, and the Xi Lambda | ||||||
10 | Chapter in 1924, the first alumni chapter, both in Chicago; | ||||||
11 | and
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12 | WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include many | ||||||
13 | noteworthy leaders in the areas of government, business, | ||||||
14 | entertainment, science, and higher education, including Dr. | ||||||
15 | Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John | ||||||
16 | Hope Franklin, John H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew | ||||||
17 | Young, Robert Smith, and Cornel West; its membership also | ||||||
18 | includes federal, State, and local elected officials, | ||||||
19 | including U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis, former U.S. | ||||||
20 | Senators Edward Brook and Roland Burris, former State Senator | ||||||
21 | Donne E. Trotter, former State Representative Al Riley, former | ||||||
22 | State Representative Art Turner Jr., former Cook County Board | ||||||
23 | Presidents John and Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago |
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1 | Eugene Sawyer, among countless others who have long stood at | ||||||
2 | the forefront of the fight for civil and human rights and | ||||||
3 | social change for all Americans; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha members have served in | ||||||
5 | the Illinois General Assembly; of the 102nd General Assembly, | ||||||
6 | those members include Representative Justin Slaughter, Speaker | ||||||
7 | of the House of Representatives Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and | ||||||
8 | Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr., who also served as the 26th vice | ||||||
9 | president of the Midwestern Region; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha continues to enrich the lives of | ||||||
11 | its members, who, in turn, provide service and advocacy for | ||||||
12 | the communities they serve; therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
14 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare March 16, | ||||||
15 | 2022 as Alpha Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor | ||||||
16 | of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued | ||||||
17 | impact on the communities it serves; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That we welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha | ||||||
19 | to the Illinois State Capitol on Alpha Phi Alpha Day.
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