Bill Text: OR HCR8 | 2013 | Regular Session | Enrolled

Oregon House Concurrent Resolution 8 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Commending and honoring Clara Peoples for her cultural and humanitarian contributions to her community and this state.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-05-02 - Filed with Secretary of State. [HCR8 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2013-HCR8-Enrolled.html



     77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session

                            Enrolled

                  House Concurrent Resolution 8

Sponsored by Representative FREDERICK; Representatives BAILEY,
  BOONE, DOHERTY, HOYLE, KENY-GUYER, WITT (Presession filed.)

  Whereas Clara Peoples grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and came
to Oregon with her family to work in the Kaiser shipyard; and
  Whereas while working in the Kaiser shipyard in 1945, Clara
Peoples introduced the celebration of Juneteenth to Portland by
making an announcement to her fellow workers on the public
address system; and
  Whereas Juneteenth marks the anniversary of the day on June 19,
1865, when Major General Gordon Granger read 'General Order No.
3' in Galveston, Texas, declaring that all slaves were free; and
  Whereas enforcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas, the
last place where slavery was still being practiced in the United
States, came more than two years after the Emancipation
Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863; and
  Whereas Juneteenth is the oldest and most widely known
celebration of African-American emancipation and a time for
revival meetings, family reunions and celebrations of freedom;
and
  Whereas Clara Peoples joined with others in encouraging Senator
Avel Gordly to sponsor Senate Joint Resolution 31 (2001),
declaring Juneteenth to be a day for celebration statewide of the
dignity and freedom of all citizens; and
  Whereas Clara Peoples and her husband, Haley, lived in Vanport
and lost their home in 1948 when a dike broke on the Columbia
River and flooded the city; and
  Whereas Clara Peoples and her family relocated to northeast
Portland, where she quickly became aware that many residents of
the neighborhood were going hungry; and
  Whereas with the help of other volunteers, Clara Peoples began
working to feed the hungry by organizing second harvests at local
farms, finding and distributing surplus food from local farmers
and other donors and even delivering food to individuals who were
housebound or without transportation; and
  Whereas Clara Peoples maintained that individuals and families
should not have to sacrifice their dignity in order to receive
assistance in times of need; and
  Whereas in 1969 Clara Peoples organized her home-based food
bank into the Community Care Association, a nonprofit that
continues to provide food and clothing to low-income individuals
today; and
  Whereas the Community Care Association is considered to be one
of the oldest and longest operating food banks in the United
States; and
  Whereas Clara Peoples is a beloved community elder whose
generosity, compassion and dedication throughout her life have
enriched the lives of those around her; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon:

Enrolled House Concurrent Resolution 8 (HCR 8-INTRO)       Page 1

  That we, the members of the Seventy-seventh Legislative
Assembly, commend and honor Clara Peoples for her cultural and
humanitarian contributions to her community and this state.
                         ----------

                                  Adopted by House February 27,
                                              2013

                               ----------------------------------
                                 Ramona J. Line, Chief Clerk of
                                              House

                               ----------------------------------
                                  Tina Kotek, Speaker of House

                                Adopted by Senate April 25, 2013

                               ----------------------------------
                                  Peter Courtney, President of
                                             Senate

Enrolled House Concurrent Resolution 8 (HCR 8-INTRO)       Page 2