DELAWARE STATE SENATE

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 21

RECOGNIZING THE EFFORTS OF HAWKS, INC. IN HELPING WITH THE CLEAN-UP OF THE 11TH STREET BRIDGE AFTER HURRICANE IDA IN 2021.

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc. is an organization of young men from Wilmington's Northeast who founded a life-long brotherhood in the 1960’s that continues to this day; and

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc.’s mission is to volunteer service, support, and mentoring to help empower citizens of Northeast Wilmington by providing education and coaching; and

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc.’s vision is to c reate a better everyday life for citizens of Northeast Wilmington; and

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc.’s objectives are to use life experiences to address the concerns of citizens in Northeast Wilmington and surrounding areas, to help create safe spaces for the residents of Delaware, and to develop partnerships with other community organizations; and

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc. members are committed to obeying the code of respecting their elders and their community; and

WHEREAS, during their childhoods, members of Hawks, Inc. played baseball, kickball, basketball, football, made sling shots, bows and arrows, went swimming, rode bikes, and went to recreation every day at the Kingswood Community Center on 14th and Claymont Street in Wilmington, Delaware; and

WHEREAS, they learned how to communicate with others at Kingswood, and, as a result, many of them were given opportunities that they would not have had otherwise; and

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc. was formed in the 1960s in Wilmington, while other youth and young adults in the community were forming gangs in the city; and

WHEREAS, William “Hicks” Anderson, one of the directors at Kingswood in the late ‘60s, took a special interest in the Hawks and met with them regularly, instilling within them values of self-respect, dignity, and manhood, that was foundational in turning the Hawks into a club rather than a gang; and

WHEREAS, Hawks, Inc. developed its own identity, which was enhanced by its commitment to volunteering service and providing support to the community; and

WHEREAS, one of their many acts of service was to vol unteer to assist families in their clean-up and recovery following the 11th Street Bridge flood in 2021 caused by Hurricane Ida.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the 152 ^nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware recognizes the service of Hawks, Inc. for their role in helping their community recover from the devastating 11 ^th Street Bridge flooding and subsequent damage caused by Hurricane Ida in September 2021.

SYNOPSIS

This resolution recognizes the efforts of Hawks, Inc. in helping with the clean-up of the 11th Street Bridge after Hurricane Ida in 2021.

Author: Senator Brown