HR0798 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0798 LRB094 16834 HSS 52111 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois learned with sadness of the death of Jorja English Palmer on December 29, 2005; and

WHEREAS, She was born June 16, 1930, in New Madrid, Missouri, to Frank and Elizabeth (Bessie) Williams; when she was four years old, both of her parents died; she and her brothers and sisters were brought to Chicago, Illinois, where they lived with their aunt, Esther Mack, on Chicago's south side; and

WHEREAS, She attended Willard and Forestville Elementary Schools; she graduated from DuSable High School and Chicago City Junior Colleges with honors; while in elementary school, she participated in a special program for the Study of Gifted Children, and in high school, she was singled out by several teachers to join the NAACP and Youth Committee, involvement that began to shape and mold her life for all time to come; and

WHEREAS, In 1952, she married Jami English, Sr., and in this union they became parents of four children, Darien Yvonne, Karen Elaine, Jami, Jr., and Stanford; by 1960, she was head of the West Chatham Improvement Organization Education Committee and was sent by that body to the newly formed Chicago Community Council Organization; in the 1970s, she engaged in the fight for an African-American school board president for the Chicago Board of Public Schools and made history as a delegate to the National Black Political Assembly in Gary, Indiana; and

WHEREAS, In 1975, she married journalist and political pundit Lu Palmer; in 1981 they made a move for real community power when they convened "Toward a Black Mayor" at Malcolm X College; it was Jorja Palmer who created the process for selecting a black mayoral candidate; together, the Palmers launched the largest voter registration drive in Chicago's history, which created the political environment in the African-American community that persuaded Harold Washington to launch his candidacy for mayor; and

WHEREAS, She worked with S.N.C.C., CORE, SCLE, and the NAACP, the Urban League, the Black Panthers, the Parent Equalizers, Operation PUSH, the Garfield Organization, WSO, and many other groups; with Arnita Boswell, Nancy Jefferson, and Lenore Cartwright, Mrs. Palmer helped found the League of Black Women; she went on to work in the political thrust with leaders such as Allan Streeter, Danny K. Davis, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sammy Rayner, Attorney William Cousins, Anna Langford, Barbara A. Sizemore, Bobby Rush, Lovana Jones, Dorothy Tillman, Wesley South, Cirilo McSween, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Bob Starks, Conrad Worrill, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Lu Palmer, and many others; and

WHEREAS, She became more involved with the communications aspect of the Movement, drafting press releases, summarizing the slogans, the media events, and the general call-to-arms for CBUC's thrust Toward a Black Mayor; she helped Lu with his newspaper, The Black X-Press, and she stood beside him in every venture of his life, from an earlier battle to get an African American chosen as school board president, to the crusade to elect Harold Washington, to their joint membership in an inter-racial political organization called PRO-CAN (Progressive Chicago Area Network), and in countless other causes; on October 22, 1982, Jorja founded and established the Stanford English Home for Boys, the first group home for African-American children in Illinois, which was named for her autistic son, Stanford English, who is deceased; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Jorja English Palmer has been deeply felt by many, especially her children Darien Y. Simon (Horace "Les"), Karen E. English, and Jami D. English, Jr. (Karen); her grandchildren, Patrick Simon (Nolanna), Natilee Simon, and Jelani and Imani English; her great-grandchildren, Nya and Patrick (P.J.) Simon; her stepson, Lu Palmer, III; and her many cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, and co-workers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Jorja English Palmer, a woman whose contributions to the African-American community of Chicago will long be remembered, and we extend our deepest sympathy to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to her family as an expression of our sincerest condolences.