2016 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 74
BY SENATOR PETERSON
A RESOLUTION
To recognize and celebrate the 2016 Elks Grand Lodge Convention Local Committee of the
Improved Benevolent and Protective Order Elks of the World (IBPOEW)117th Elks
Grand Lodge and 113th Grand Temple Daughters of Elks International Convention
to be held on August 13, 2016, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
recognizes the convention to be held on August 13, 2016, honoring the 2016 Elks Grand
Lodge Committee of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order Elks of the World
(IBPOEW)117th Elks Grand Lodge and 113th Grand Temple Daughters of Elks
International Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, fraternal organizations are popular among African Americans for the
same reasons they prove to be popular among all Americans: by providing financial,
spiritual, and emotional aid, and they are all invaluable to the communities they serve; and
WHEREAS, African American fraternities have played a vital role in the African
American experience and have had the added purpose of improving self-esteem; first
instituted during slavery, the membership, rituals, uniforms, and offices of these societies
generated a respect not available outside of the lodges at the time; they have always been
fully committed to economic, personal, and academic advancement; and
WHEREAS, one organization is the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of
the Elks of the World (IBPOEW), granted a copyright as an organization on September 28,
1898, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and currently boasts over half a million members in over one
thousand five hundred lodges worldwide; and
WHEREAS, on June 13, 1902, Emma Virginia Kelley organized the Daughters of
Elks in Norfolk, Virginia; this group was later adopted by the Grand Lodge and became an
auxiliary body to the Brothers of Elks, the first Temple was Norfolk Temple No. 1, Norfolk,
Virginia; and
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WHEREAS, a pullman porter, Arthur James Riggs, and Benjamin Franklin Howard,
both members of another fraternal organization for people of color, realized their dreams and
plans when the first lodge, Alpha Lodge No. 1, was organized in Cincinnati, as a result of
the efforts of these two men; and
WHEREAS, today it is the largest black fraternal organization in the world and its
stated purpose is that the welfare and happiness of its members be promoted and enhanced,
that nobleness of soul and goodness of heart be cultivated, that the principles of charity,
justice, brotherly/sisterly love and fidelity be inculcated, that its members and their families
be assisted and protected, and that the spirit of patriotism be enlivened and exalted; and
WHEREAS, the order is best known for its education department, which over the
years has given millions of dollars in scholarships to youth of all races, and has conducted
annual oratorical contests, held on local, state, regional, and national levels which throughout
its history have included many notables, such as Justice Thurgood Marshall, McDonald
Henry, the former Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Nobel
Peace Prize winner, Mary Beth Bethune, Dr. Benjamin Hooks and Oprah Winfrey, author,
actress/producer, media proprietor, talk show host, and philanthropist; and
WHEREAS, a few of the major departments of the Elks are the Grand Lodge
education department, history department, medical department, veterans affairs department,
national youth department, civil department, and through the efforts of its members and
various departments, the Elks sponsor extensive educational scholarship programs, youth
summer computer literacy camps, and help children with special needs, with parades and
with unequaled community service activities throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, the success of the state of Louisiana, the strength of our communities,
and the overall vitality of American society depend in great measure upon organizations like
these.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby recognize and celebrate the 2016 Elks Grand Lodge Convention Local
Committee of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order Elks of the World (IBPOEW)
117th Elks Grand Lodge and 113th Grand Temple Daughters of Elks International
Convention to be held on August 13, 2016, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Elks Grand Lodge Convention Local Committee of the Improved Benevolent and Protective
Order for the Elks International Convention.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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