SR0992 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0992 LRB096 24190 GRL 43634 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop Arthur M. Brazier of Chicago, who passed away on October 22, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur Brazier served his country in the U.S. Army in Burma and India during World War II; he was employed as a U.S. Post Office letter carrier when he enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute in 1955; he became pastor of the Apostolic Church of God in 1960, a year before he graduated from the Bible Institute; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur Brazier led the Apostolic Church of God as pastor for 48 years until his retirement in 2008; during his tenure, he built the church's membership to 20,000 people; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur Brazier was the founding president of The Woodlawn Organization, a South Side community organization active in the civil rights movement in its early years; The Woodlawn Organization's Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Company acquired vacant city properties, where it built low and mixed-income housing; in 1966, he invited Martin Luther King Jr. to Chicago, where the pair protested segregated schools and housing; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur Brazier recently spearheaded an effort to create the Woodlawn Children's Promise Zone to ensure that school-aged children in the Woodlawn community reap the benefit of all community resources that could be utilized to enhance their educational experience, raise academic standards, and create a safe environment where they can thrive; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur Brazier has served as a well-respected community and spiritual adviser to numerous civic and business leaders for many decades in the City of Chicago and beyond; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur Brazier is survived by his wife, Esther Isabelle; his son, the Reverend Bryon Brazier; his 3 daughters, Lola Hillman, Janice Dortch, and Rosalyn Shepherd; his 7 grandchildren; and his 11 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Bishop Arthur Brazier; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Bishop Arthur Brazier as a symbol of our sympathy.