| 1 | 1 | | 24 LC 128 0300 |
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| 2 | 2 | | Senate Resolution 713 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Senators Parent of the 42nd, Butler of the 55th, Harrell of the 40th, Anderson of the |
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| 4 | 4 | | 43rd, Jackson of the 41st and others |
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| 5 | 5 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | Recognizing and commending the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights; and for |
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| 7 | 7 | | 1 |
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| 8 | 8 | | other purposes.2 |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights empowers, advocates,3 |
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| 10 | 10 | | educates, and organizes people of African descent affected by the history of slavery, de jure4 |
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| 11 | 11 | | racial discrimination, and segregation in the City of Decatur schools and housing; and5 |
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| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights was named for a square mile6 |
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| 13 | 13 | | of Decatur settled by freed slaves after the Civil War; and7 |
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| 14 | 14 | | WHEREAS, the residents of Beacon Hill built a vibrant community of families, businesses,8 |
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| 15 | 15 | | churches, and schools, and other common threads of life while enduring racial prejudice and9 |
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| 16 | 16 | | societal inequality; and10 |
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| 17 | 17 | | WHEREAS, the Beacon Hill community was central to the movement for racial equality and11 |
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| 18 | 18 | | civil rights in Decatur and DeKalb County by forming the Decatur Colored Citizens League12 |
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| 19 | 19 | | in 1950 and DeKalb Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored13 |
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| 20 | 20 | | People in 1955; and14 |
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| 21 | 21 | | S. R. 713 |
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| 22 | 22 | | - 1 - 24 LC 128 0300 |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, the Beacon Hill community was incrementally condemned to make way for |
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| 24 | 24 | | 15 |
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| 25 | 25 | | public housing, the new county courthouse, and Decatur High School as part of an urban16 |
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| 26 | 26 | | renewal project in the 1960s; and17 |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, in 2015, a group of concerned citizens was convened by Mayor Emerita18 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Elizabeth Wilson, the City of Decatur's first and only African American mayor, to address19 |
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| 29 | 29 | | issues of equality in Decatur and the surrounding communities; and20 |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, after years of successful advocacy as an Organizing Committee of the NAACP,21 |
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| 31 | 31 | | in 2015 the alliance was reorganized as an independent organization to better advocate for22 |
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| 32 | 32 | | local change and continues its activism in the Decatur area on various fronts; and23 |
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| 33 | 33 | | WHEREAS, some of the many victories of the alliance include dramatically increasing24 |
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| 34 | 34 | | attendance in City Schools of Decatur School Board meetings, successfully advocating for25 |
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| 35 | 35 | | the creation for an Equity Director position within the City Schools of Decatur, supporting26 |
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| 36 | 36 | | the development of the first-ever Black Student Unions at both Decatur High School and27 |
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| 37 | 37 | | Beacon Hill Middle School, and hosting panel discussions on closing the achievement gap,28 |
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| 38 | 38 | | alternative school discipline practices, and school safety; and29 |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, other notable achievements of the alliance include cosponsoring and organizing30 |
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| 40 | 40 | | the Take Down White Supremacy March and Rally, which was attended by 5,000 protesters31 |
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| 41 | 41 | | in response to the white supremacist attack in Charlottesville; coordinating efforts to remove32 |
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| 42 | 42 | | monuments to white supremacy in Decatur Square, including the Confederate "Lost Cause"33 |
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| 43 | 43 | | obelisk and the "Genocide Cannon"; and sponsoring and fund raising for "Art for the34 |
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| 44 | 44 | | People," a public art project that puts works created by artists of African and Indigenous35 |
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| 45 | 45 | | descent on display in the City of Decatur; and36 |
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| 46 | 46 | | S. R. 713 |
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| 47 | 47 | | - 2 - 24 LC 128 0300 |
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| 48 | 48 | | WHEREAS, the alliance continues to focus on the issues of equality in education, housing, |
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| 49 | 49 | | 37 |
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| 50 | 50 | | public art and monuments, and the legal system as the road to equality and justice remains38 |
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| 51 | 51 | | long and fraught with challenge; and39 |
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| 52 | 52 | | WHEREAS, this remarkable organization has had a tremendous impact on its community40 |
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| 53 | 53 | | and it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this41 |
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| 54 | 54 | | extraordinary group of people be appropriately commended and recognized. 42 |
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| 55 | 55 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body43 |
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| 56 | 56 | | recognize and commend the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights for its many44 |
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| 57 | 57 | | valuable contributions on behalf of the citizens of the community and extend best wishes for45 |
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| 58 | 58 | | continued future success.46 |
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| 59 | 59 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed47 |
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| 60 | 60 | | to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the Beacon Hill48 |
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| 61 | 61 | | Black Alliance for Human Rights.49 |
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| 62 | 62 | | S. R. 713 |
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| 63 | 63 | | - 3 - |
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