Bill Text: IL HR1048 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Recognizes and honors the 2018 Alpha Phi Alpha Day held at the Illinois State Capitol and welcomes the members of Alpha Phi Alpha to the Capitol. Declares the date of May 9, 2018 as Alpha Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HR1048 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HR1048-Introduced.html

---

HR1048 LRB100 21904 MST 39785 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, was
founded on December 4, 1906, by 7 college men, respectfully
known as the "Seven Jewels", on the campus of Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York, becoming 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
while stressing academic excellence among its members; the
founders recognized 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

HR1048 - 2 - LRB100 21904 MST 39785 r
WHEREAS, Since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has
consistently supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of
African-Americans, people of color, and 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; Alpha Phi Alpha also
focuses on providing service through its strategic
partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of
America, March of Dimes, the American Heart/American Stroke
Association, and the American Cancer Society; and

HR1048 - 3 - LRB100 21904 MST 39785 r
WHEREAS, For over 109 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; the Midwestern
Region includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, West
Virginia, Wisconsin, and Canada; 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 the likes of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John
Hope Franklin, John H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew
Young, 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
Brooke and Roland Burris, former Cook County Board Presidents

HR1048 - 4 - LRB100 21904 MST 39785 r
John and Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago Eugene
Sawyer, among countless others who have long stood at the
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: Senator Donne E. Trotter
and Representatives Al Riley, Arthur Turner, Jr., Emanuel
"Chris" Welch, and 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 with a commitment to service and the
uplifting of humanity; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
recognize and honor the 2018 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 declares the date of May 9, 2018 as Alpha
Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor of Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and its continued service and
impact on the communities it serves; and be it further

HR1048 - 5 - LRB100 21904 MST 39785 r
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to the Midwestern Regional Vice-President and the
Assistant Regional Vice-President or their designees, the
Illinois District Director, and the Illinois Assistant
District Director of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.