Bill Text: IL SR0035 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares January 1, 2026 as Black Diaspora Freedom Day in the State of Illinois to educate, showcase, discuss, and mend fences between the Black and Diaspora communities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Assigned to Human Rights [SR0035 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2025-SR0035-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, January 1st marks the official day when enslaved | ||||||
| 3 | people were declared free following President Abraham | ||||||
| 4 | Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The Confederate states were mandated to free the | ||||||
| 6 | slaves at midnight on January 1, 1863; however, it took nearly | ||||||
| 7 | two more years, until June 19, 1865, for many individuals to be | ||||||
| 8 | informed that they were free; this freedom mandate included | ||||||
| 9 | short-term and long-term contingencies for the Black and | ||||||
| 10 | Diaspora communities; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, While Juneteenth is celebrated as the day | ||||||
| 12 | enslaved people learned of their freedom, January 1st will | ||||||
| 13 | forever be the official freedom date; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass argued that freedom would be | ||||||
| 15 | empty if the formerly enslaved were not guaranteed the rights | ||||||
| 16 | and protections of American citizens; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Fannie Lou Hamer once said, "Nobody's free until | ||||||
| 18 | everybody's free"; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Acknowledging January 1st as the day enslaved | ||||||
| 20 | people officially received their freedom will enhance our | ||||||
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| 1 | understanding of the oppression and challenges they faced, | ||||||
| 2 | including the denial of their rights and the struggle for | ||||||
| 3 | equality; therefore, be it
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| 4 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 5 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare January 1, | ||||||
| 6 | 2026 as Black Diaspora Freedom Day in the State of Illinois to | ||||||
| 7 | educate, showcase, discuss, and mend fences between the Black | ||||||
| 8 | and Diaspora communities. | ||||||