| 1 | 1 | | *HR1529* |
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| 2 | 2 | | Introduced Version |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE |
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| 4 | 4 | | RESOLUTION No. ___ |
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| 5 | 5 | | Introduced by: Smith V |
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| 6 | 6 | | ____________________________________ |
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| 7 | 7 | | 1 A HOUSE RESOLUTION recognizing the 13th Annual |
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| 8 | 8 | | 2 Bill Johnson Black Film Festival. |
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| 9 | 9 | | 3 Whereas, African American Achievers Youth Corps, Inc., |
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| 10 | 10 | | 4 partners with other local groups to sponsor a film festival |
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| 11 | 11 | | 5 dedicated to Gary native William L. Johnson, which is hosted |
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| 12 | 12 | | 6 by the actor; |
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| 13 | 13 | | 7 Whereas, William Johnson is a graduate of Emerson School |
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| 14 | 14 | | 8 for the Visual and Performing Arts in Gary and has had |
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| 15 | 15 | | 9 starring roles in many theatrically released projects, including |
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| 16 | 16 | | 10 a lead role in "Blue Hill Avenue", which garnered top honors |
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| 17 | 17 | | 11 at the Acapulco and Black Hollywood film festivals; |
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| 18 | 18 | | 12 Whereas, More than just an actor, William Johnson's goal is |
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| 19 | 19 | | 13 to "reinvest the majority of his earnings into a structured |
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| 20 | 20 | | 14 business that supports the advancement of the urban |
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| 21 | 21 | | 20242296 |
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| 22 | 22 | | HR 1529/DI 140 2024 2 |
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| 23 | 23 | | 1 community. By spreading the message of self-reliance and |
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| 24 | 24 | | 2 providing opportunities to qualified individuals from |
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| 25 | 25 | | 3 disadvantaged backgrounds, he hopes to break the cycle that |
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| 26 | 26 | | 4 keeps generations impoverished"; |
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| 27 | 27 | | 5 Whereas, Equally important to William Johnson is his |
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| 28 | 28 | | 6 passion to deliver conscious messages through his music using |
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| 29 | 29 | | 7 his stage persona, "Brotha Bill"; |
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| 30 | 30 | | 8 Whereas, William Johnson has been involved in more than |
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| 31 | 31 | | 9 20 film projects and independent short films and features, |
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| 32 | 32 | | 10 including "Motives 2", "The Mannsfield 12", "Crossover", |
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| 33 | 33 | | 11 "Doing Hard Time", "Tears of a Clown", "Motives", "Move", |
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| 34 | 34 | | 12 "Wanted: Soulful Energy Xchange", "Two Degrees", "Nothing |
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| 35 | 35 | | 13 Like Thanksgiving", and "Perfectly Single"; |
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| 36 | 36 | | 14 Whereas, The 13th Annual Bill Johnson Black Film Festival |
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| 37 | 37 | | 15 will feature student films "Beauty Mark" by Sanaa Wilkins, "La |
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| 38 | 38 | | 16 Mulatresse Solitude" by Brittany Denise, "Une La Meilleure" |
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| 39 | 39 | | 17 by Billyne Francois, "Take My Hand" by Eric Bailey Jr., and |
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| 40 | 40 | | 18 "The Conversation: Unprotected" by Shanese Shields, Naja |
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| 41 | 41 | | 19 Small, and Joe James, all premiering on the morning of Friday, |
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| 42 | 42 | | 20 February 16, 2024; |
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| 43 | 43 | | 21 Whereas, Friday evening screenings will include "The |
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| 44 | 44 | | 22 Payout" by Andrew Essig, "The Invitation" by Paula Wills, |
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| 45 | 45 | | 23 "Intersectionality" by Diane Powell, "Lovebugs" by Aaron J. |
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| 46 | 46 | | 24 Davis, "They Don't Live Long" by Adrian Priut, "Huey" by Ken |
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| 47 | 47 | | 25 Gregory and Dave Mack III, and "A Heart That Forgives 2 - |
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| 48 | 48 | | 26 The Battle Within" by M. Legend Brown as the feature film; |
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| 49 | 49 | | 27 Whereas, The festival continues on Saturday, February 17, |
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| 50 | 50 | | 28 2024, with the evening showings of "On Deaf Ears" by Ty Hunt, |
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| 51 | 51 | | 29 "Scars" by Lilton Stewart III, "Col-ored Tags" by Malik J. Ali, |
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| 52 | 52 | | 30 "Death & Taxes" by Matthew Morris, "Teddy" by Eddie Kane |
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| 53 | 53 | | 31 Baker, "One Thousand Negative Confessions" by Mark |
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| 54 | 54 | | 32 Spencer, and "Recession Proof" by Arthur Muhammad as the |
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| 55 | 55 | | 33 feature film; |
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| 56 | 56 | | 34 Whereas, Finally, Thursday, February 22, 2024, and Friday, |
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| 57 | 57 | | 35 February 23, 2024, will be the student documentary festival |
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| 58 | 58 | | 36 with showings of "Get on the Bus" by Justinian Matthew |
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| 59 | 59 | | 20242296 |
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| 60 | 60 | | HR 1529/DI 140 2024 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 1 Dispenza, "Mosiah" by Jirard, "Interception: Jayne Kennedy - |
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| 62 | 62 | | 2 American Sportscaster" by Safiya Songhai, and "Harriet |
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| 63 | 63 | | 3 Tubman - From the Railroad to a Spy" by Luana M. Graves |
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| 64 | 64 | | 4 Sellars; |
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| 65 | 65 | | 5 Whereas, The Bill Johnson Black Film Festival came about |
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| 66 | 66 | | 6 as an idea to provide wholesome entertainment for northwest |
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| 67 | 67 | | 7 Indiana, to expose the northwest Indiana community to quality |
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| 68 | 68 | | 8 Black films, to help northwest Indiana come together to share |
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| 69 | 69 | | 9 ideas, and to hold discussions surrounding film messages; and |
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| 70 | 70 | | 10 Whereas, The arts are a valuable tool in creating an |
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| 71 | 71 | | 11 atmosphere of understanding and open discussions to help |
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| 72 | 72 | | 12 bring communities together in a meaningful way: Therefore, |
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| 73 | 73 | | 13 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the |
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| 74 | 74 | | 14 General Assembly of the State of Indiana: |
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| 75 | 75 | | 15 SECTION 1. That the Indiana House of Representatives |
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| 76 | 76 | | 16 recognizes the value to the community of the 13th Annual Bill |
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| 77 | 77 | | 17 Johnson Black Film Festival and thanks William L. Johnson for |
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| 78 | 78 | | 18 dedicating his time and energy to this worthwhile project. |
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| 79 | 79 | | 19 SECTION 2. That the Principal Clerk of the House of |
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| 80 | 80 | | 20 Representatives transmit copies of this resolution to the African |
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| 81 | 81 | | 21 American Achievers Youth Corps, Inc., and William L. |
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| 82 | 82 | | 22 Johnson. |
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| 83 | 83 | | 20242296 |
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| 84 | 84 | | HR 1529/DI 140 2024 |
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