Bill Text: IL HR0817 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizes Black History Month and brings attention to the continued issues within the African American community.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-02-18 - Resolution Adopted [HR0817 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HR0817-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Black History Month is an annual celebration which
recognizes that over the last 150 years, beginning with the
Emancipation Proclamation and continuing with the Civil Rights
Movement, African Americans have made great strides and
advancements toward equality; and
WHEREAS, The precursor to Black History Month was "Negro
History Week" was started in 1926 by historian and University
of Chicago alumnus Carter G. Woodson and the Association for
the Study of Negro Life and History; the second week of
February was chosen because it marked the birthdays of
President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglas;
primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated
teaching of the history of African Americans in the nation's
public schools; and
WHEREAS, In 1970, Black History Week was expanded into
Black History Month, with the first celebration taking place at
Kent State University; as part of the 1976 United States
Bicentennial, Black History Month was officially recognized by
President Gerald Ford and the U.S. government; and
WHEREAS, Even with the numerous positive advancements made
by African Americans since the Emancipation Proclamation,

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which are documented during Black History Month, many
communities still suffer from unacceptable conditions such as
unemployment, poverty, mortgage foreclosures, deficiencies in
public health services, and crime; and
WHEREAS, These economic and societal challenges created or
exacerbated conditions which include inequalities in access to
justice in the civil court system, an overburdened and
ineffective criminal justice system, overcrowding conditions
in correctional facilities, increased homelessness, increases
in teen pregnancy, inadequate educational opportunities, a
lack of affordable housing, insufficient delivery of social
services to the less fortunate, and deficiencies in the
delivery of public health services; and
WHEREAS, Unemployment is a lingering problem for the
economy as a whole, but a study revealed that the unemployment
rate for blacks in Illinois was 17.5%, compared to 8.2% for
whites and 9.8% for all workers; 75.5% of homicide victims in
the State of Illinois are black, and in the first months of
2012, when there was a 38% increase in the homicide rate, 77.6%
of homicide victims in the City of Chicago were black; the teen
birth rate in the United States was 38.1 births for every 1,000
teens, but in a comparable time period in Illinois the rate for
black teens was 77.9 births for every 1,000, while the white
teen birth rate was 20.6 per every 1,000 teens; the inmate

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population in the Illinois Correctional system is
approximately 58% black and the high proportion of young black
males with criminal convictions is a well-recognized
phenomenon; and
WHEREAS, Black leaders in Illinois are not alone in
recognizing that these broad social problems often strike the
hardest in the black community; it is painful for the black
leaders to ponder the stories of human struggle, despair, and
hurt that all too often over shadow the stories of success and
hope; and
WHEREAS, State government resources are expended in
ever-increasing amounts to address these social and economic
problems and those expenditures are a significant drain on the
State's road to financial stability; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we celebrate Black History Month and recognize how far African
Americans have come in the past 150 years; and be it further
RESOLVED, We acknowledge the continuing struggles of those
within the African American communities of the State and the
country and encourage Governor Quinn to address the ongoing
issues affecting those communities; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
delivered to Governor Pat Quinn.