Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana House Bill HCR0029 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	HC1035
2	2	Introduced Version
3	3	HOUSE CONCURRENT
4	4	RESOLUTION No. ____
5	5	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED RESOL UTION
6	6	A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION recognizing the Divine
7	7	Nine chapters of Indiana.
8	8	Summers, Jackson C, Smith V,
9	9	Burton
10	10	_______________________, read first time and referred to Committee on
11	11	20253063
12	12	2025 HC 1035/DI 140 Introduced
13	13	First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
14	14	HOUSE CONCURRENT
15	15	RESOLUTION No. ____
16	16	1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION recognizing the Divine
17	17	2 Nine chapters of Indiana.
18	18	3 Whereas, Black Greek-letter organizations (BGLOs) emerged
19	19	4 during the Jim Crow era and were established on the principles
20	20	5 of personal excellence, racial uplift, community service, civic
21	21	6 action, and kinship at a time when Greek life at predominantly
22	22	7 White institutions excluded Black students;
23	23	8 Whereas, Black students, whether studying at historically
24	24	9 Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) or predominantly
25	25	10 White institutions, came together to create these organizations,
26	26	11 forging familial ties to one another and outreach within the
27	27	12 larger Black community, and those ties endure to this day;
28	28	13 Whereas, The nine BGLOs that comprise the National
29	29	14 Pan-Hellenic Council, known as the Divine Nine, have an
30	30	15 impact on community service and civic engagement, through
31	31	16 outreach programs that include literacy, professional
32	32	17 development, voter registration, scholarship programs, and
33	33	18 health awareness campaigns;
34	34	19 Whereas, Membership statistics of these organizations reveal
35	35	20 a steady growth in participation, gaining thousands of new
36	36	21 members annually, and recent philanthropic initiatives have
37	37	22 raised millions of dollars for scholarships and community
38	38	23 projects. These figures highlight the enduring relevance,
39	39	24 impact, and necessity of these organizations to advance
40	40	25 education and equity;
41	41	26 Whereas, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., was founded on
42	42	2025 HC 1035/DI 140 2
43	43	1 December 4, 1906, at Cornell University, and it stands as the
44	44	2 sole BGLO founded at an Ivy League institution;
45	45	3 Whereas, Alpha Phi Alpha devised programs offering
46	46	4 tutoring, financial aid, and heightened educational
47	47	5 opportunities for Black youth at a time when most Black
48	48	6 teenagers did not graduate high school or pursue a college
49	49	7 education, and they organized the Voting Rights Program, a
50	50	8 national program that engaged in voter registration drives;
51	51	9 Whereas, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., was founded on
52	52	10 January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.,
53	53	11 and it was the first BGLO founded by women;
54	54	12 Whereas, Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, a student at Howard
55	55	13 University who was a founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha,
56	56	14 aspired to create a supportive network for women sharing
57	57	15 similar goals in order to uplift one another and leverage their
58	58	16 talents for the greater good, and these women assumed
59	59	17 leadership roles within the Young Women's Christian
60	60	18 Association (YWCA), engaged in activities with the campus
61	61	19 chapter of the NAACP, aided southern migrants during the
62	62	20 Great Migration, advocated for women's suffrage, and
63	63	21 established funds catering to students in need and those
64	64	22 wishing to pursue studies abroad;
65	65	23 Whereas, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., was founded on
66	66	24 January 5, 1911, at Indiana University in Bloomington,
67	67	25 Indiana, and it is one of the few BGLOs that emerged among
68	68	26 Black students at a predominantly White university rather than
69	69	27 an HBCU such as Howard University;
70	70	28 Whereas, Elder Watson Diggs and Byron Kenneth Armstrong,
71	71	29 who had forged a friendship at Howard University, became
72	72	30 students at Indiana University and found themselves socially
73	73	31 isolated on campus due to discrimination, inadequate social
74	74	32 services, and meager representation of Black students, so they
75	75	33 began hosting social events and parties that attracted Black
76	76	34 students from across the state, crafting a constitution, rituals,
77	77	35 an initiation ceremony, and a coat of arms for their new
78	78	36 organization;
79	79	37 Whereas, Kappa Alpha Psi created a monthly publication in
80	80	38 1921 called the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal and started initiatives
81	81	2025 HC 1035/DI 140 3
82	82	1 aimed at aiding high school students, and some members
83	83	2 became prominent figures in the civil rights movement;
84	84	3 Whereas, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., was founded on
85	85	4 November 17, 1911, at Howard University by three students,
86	86	5 Edgar Love, Frank Coleman, and Oscar Cooper, along with the
87	87	6 assistance of biologist Professor Ernest Just;
88	88	7 Whereas, At first, administrators at Howard University
89	89	8 opposed the formation of Omega Psi Phi as they were worried
90	90	9 that secret societies could erode trust among students on
91	91	10 campus and lead to immoral behavior, which was the attitude
92	92	11 of many colleges and universities nationwide, but after a public
93	93	12 relations campaign and negotiations with the faculty by
94	94	13 members of the fraternity, they became a nationally recognized
95	95	14 organization;
96	96	15 Whereas, In 1926, Omega Psi Phi became a life member of
97	97	16 the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, a
98	98	17 group founded by member Carter G. Woodson who helped
99	99	18 establish Negro History Week, a precursor to Black History
100	100	19 Month. The fraternity was heavily involved in the civil rights
101	101	20 moment, supporting the Joint Committee on National Recovery,
102	102	21 which was a coalition of 20 civil rights group, in their efforts to
103	103	22 secure fair employment for Black people, and they also
104	104	23 contributed to organizations such as the Southern Negro
105	105	24 Congress, the National Urban League, the International
106	106	25 Brotherhood of Red Caps, and the NAACP;
107	107	26 Whereas, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on
108	108	27 January 13, 1913, at Howard University, and they emerged
109	109	28 from a division within Alpha Kappa Alpha as members were
110	110	29 dissatisfied with the organization's limited focus on campus
111	111	30 affairs and wanted to pivot towards addressing broader issues
112	112	31 such as public service and women's advancement;
113	113	32 Whereas, From its inception, Delta Sigma Theta became
114	114	33 active politically, marching with White women in the 1913
115	115	34 Woman Suffrage Procession and lobbying the federal
116	116	35 government on various matters, including racial justice,
117	117	36 anti-lynching laws, and the United States' involvement in Haiti.
118	118	37 The organization also sponsored various social programs for
119	119	38 Black people, creating the National Library Project in 1937
120	120	39 that sought to combat illiteracy, and they created one of the
121	121	2025 HC 1035/DI 140 4
122	122	1 nation's first bookmobiles to serve Black people in some of the
123	123	2 most isolated parts of the country;
124	124	3 Whereas, Delta Sigma Theta's emphasis on the importance of
125	125	4 being politically engaged attracted notable members such as
126	126	5 former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, former Atlanta
127	127	6 Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and civil rights activist Dorothy
128	128	7 Height;
129	129	8 Whereas, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., was founded on
130	130	9 January 9, 1914, at Howard University, but it was first
131	131	10 conceived years before by A. Langston Taylor, who aspired to
132	132	11 create a new BGLO as a high school student in Memphis,
133	133	12 Tennessee. Taylor, along with his former college roommate
134	134	13 Leonard Morse and fellow Howard student Charles I. Brown,
135	135	14 established the organization in a Washington, D.C., Young
136	136	15 Men's Christian Association (YMCA) building;
137	137	16 Whereas, During the 1920s, Phi Beta Sigma actively engaged
138	138	17 in advocacy efforts, supporting anti-lynching legislation,
139	139	18 launching the Bigger and Better Business national program to
140	140	19 address the imperative for Black economic empowerment, and
141	141	20 opposing United States military intervention in Haiti;
142	142	21 Whereas, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., was founded on
143	143	22 January 16, 1920, at Howard University by Arizona Cleaver,
144	144	23 who was approached by Charles Taylor of Phi Beta Sigma
145	145	24 about her interest in forming a sister organization;
146	146	25 Whereas, The founders of Zeta Phi Beta promptly crafted a
147	147	26 constitution that mirrored Phi Beta Sigma's structure, marking
148	148	27 the birth of the first brother-sister organization, and their
149	149	28 constitution emphasized advancing education among college
150	150	29 women, fostering uplifting projects, embodying the spirit of
151	151	30 sisterly love, and promoting the ideals of finer womanhood;
152	152	31 Whereas, Zeta Phi Beta began a publication called Archon,
153	153	32 formerly titled X-Ray, instituted the tradition of Finer
154	154	33 Womanhood Week, aligned itself with the NAACP and the
155	155	34 National Negro Congress, and embarked on the Zeta Housing
156	156	35 Project of 1943, identifying housing vacancies and registering
157	157	36 them with the National Housing Association to shelter war
158	158	37 workers during World War II;
159	159	2025 HC 1035/DI 140 5
160	160	1 Whereas, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., was founded on
161	161	2 November 12, 1922, at Butler University in Indianapolis,
162	162	3 Indiana, by seven educators: Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little,
163	163	4 Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae
164	164	5 Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford, Bessie Mae
165	165	6 Downey Rhoades Martin, and Cubena McClure;
166	166	7 Whereas, Sigma Gamma Rho became nationally incorporated
167	167	8 in 1929, actively supported civil rights, and worked to empower
168	168	9 families in such areas as education and health;
169	169	10 Whereas, The sorority organized literary contests to provide
170	170	11 books to young Black students, established the National
171	171	12 Vocational Guidance program to help launch careers, founded
172	172	13 the Sigma Gamma Rho Employment Aid Bureau to assist
173	173	14 members in finding employment, and launched Sigma Teen
174	174	15 Town to address juvenile delinquency;
175	175	16 Whereas, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., was founded on
176	176	17 September 19, 1963, at Morgan State College (now Morgan
177	177	18 State University) in Baltimore, Maryland, marking the final
178	178	19 addition to the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and it was
179	179	20 founded amidst the civil rights movement by twelve men, most
180	180	21 of whom were non-traditional students, making it difficult to
181	181	22 recruit undergraduate members at first;
182	182	23 Whereas, Aligned with the civil rights ethos, members of Iota
183	183	24 Phi Theta actively supported the boycott of a segregated
184	184	25 shopping mall in Baltimore and collaborated on community
185	185	26 service projects with organizations such as the NAACP, United
186	186	27 Negro College Fund, and the Southern Christian Leadership
187	187	28 Council; and
188	188	29 Whereas, The first Divine Nine Day will be hosted at the
189	189	30 Indiana Statehouse on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, to celebrate
190	190	31 these organizations and their contributions to their campuses,
191	191	32 local communities, and the Black community as a whole:
192	192	33 Therefore,
193	193	34 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives
194	194	35 of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana,
195	195	36 the Senate concurring:
196	196	37 SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly recognizes
197	197	2025 HC 1035/DI 140 6
198	198	1 the Divine Nine Chapters of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
199	199	2 SECTION 2. That the Indiana General Assembly recognizes
200	200	3 March 25, 2025, as Divine Nine Day at the Indiana Statehouse.
201	201	4 SECTION 3. That the Principal Clerk of the House of
202	202	5 Representatives shall transmit copies of this resolution to State
203	203	6 Representative Vanessa Summers for distribution.
204	204	2025 HC 1035/DI 140