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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | ||||||
| 3 | learned with deep regret of the death of Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming | ||||||
| 4 | Palmer Jr. of Chicago on Sunday, September 12, 2004; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, For most of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the voice | ||||||
| 6 | and pen of Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming Palmer Jr. were synonymous | ||||||
| 7 | with the battle cry of black power; his message was passionate, | ||||||
| 8 | agitated, and often angry, but he is also remembered as a | ||||||
| 9 | sometimes soft-spoken man; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer's most significant legacy was being the | ||||||
| 11 | man behind the slogan "We Shall See in '83" that mobilized | ||||||
| 12 | black voters to elect Harold Washington as the Chicago's first | ||||||
| 13 | black mayor; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, He is remembered as a very effective communicator | ||||||
| 15 | and a forceful advocate for Chicago's African-American | ||||||
| 16 | community, as a persuasive writer, a fine public speaker, and | ||||||
| 17 | an excellent political strategist; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer was born in Newport News, Virginia to | ||||||
| 19 | Lutrelle and Virginia Palmer; he graduated from Virginia Union | ||||||
| 20 | University, and went on to earn a master's degree from Syracuse | ||||||
| 21 | University; he also attended the University of Iowa, but prior | ||||||
| 22 | to completion of his degree moved to Fisk University in | ||||||
| 23 | Tennessee, where he headed the communications department; and | ||||||
| 24 | WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer moved to Chicago in 1950 and got a job | ||||||
| 25 | at the Chicago Defender; he held other newspaper jobs, | ||||||
| 26 | including a stint at the Chicago American, where he worked the | ||||||
| 27 | overnight shift, before landing a job at the Daily News in the | ||||||
| 28 | 1960s; and | ||||||
| 29 | WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer spoke out when Black Panthers Fred | ||||||
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| 1 | Hampton and Mark Clark were slain in 1969 by Chicago Police in | ||||||
| 2 | a nighttime raid directed by State's Attorney Edward V. | ||||||
| 3 | Hanrahan; he resigned from the Daily News on January 15, 1973, | ||||||
| 4 | the birthday of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.; he said | ||||||
| 5 | his departure was due to several incidents where his copy was | ||||||
| 6 | altered or his column was changed or killed; following his | ||||||
| 7 | resignation, the Chicago Newspaper Guild gave him an award for | ||||||
| 8 | his service to the newspaper industry for his "effective voice | ||||||
| 9 | in the press and radio for the needs of the black community"; | ||||||
| 10 | and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer founded an independent paper, the | ||||||
| 12 | X-Press; the first paper hit the streets on May 9, the birthday | ||||||
| 13 | of Malcolm X; it closed in 1974; a strident black nationalist, | ||||||
| 14 | he founded the Chicago Black United Communities in 1979 and the | ||||||
| 15 | Black Independent Political Organization in 1981; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, His passing has been deeply felt by many, | ||||||
| 17 | especially his wife, Jorja English Palmer; his daughters, | ||||||
| 18 | Trudy, Darien Simon, and Karen English; his sons, Lu Palmer III | ||||||
| 19 | and Jamie English Jr.; his five grandchildren; and his two | ||||||
| 20 | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 21 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 22 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 23 | Lutrelle "Lu" Fleming Palmer Jr., a man who will be remembered | ||||||
| 24 | as one of the ablest spokesman for freedom and justice for | ||||||
| 25 | African Americans; and be it further
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| 26 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 27 | presented to the family of Mr. Palmer as an expression of our | ||||||
| 28 | sincerest condolences.
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