HR0603 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0603 LRB098 14102 MST 48675 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Chicago, which celebrated its 166th anniversary on July 21, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Quinn Chapel is the oldest African American church in the City of Chicago and is believed to be the sponsor of one of the longest-running African American events in the city, the "June Rose Concert", of which the 118th concert was performed on June 9, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Quinn Chapel was started in 1844 by a prayer group of 7 members, 7 years after the City of Chicago was incorporated; the first group met in the home of John Day, located at what is now an alley between Randolph and Lake Streets; as the group grew, they relocated to the home of Maria Parker, one of the organizers of the Prayer Band; by 1846, the growing size of the congregation necessitated another move and they settled into an old school house located at State and Madison Streets and began the application process of becoming accepted as a congregation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; on June 22, 1847 the Prayer group became an official congregation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was named in honor of Bishop William Paul Quinn, the African Methodist Episcopal Missionary who organized many churches in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri; and

WHEREAS, Quinn Chapel has stood at its present location on South Wabash Avenue since 1891; before moving to its current location, it was destroyed twice by fire, the first time being during the "Great Chicago Fire" of 1871; and

WHEREAS, Quinn Chapel is rich in history; prior to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, it played an important role in the abolition movement in Chicago and served as a station for the Underground Railroad; notable speakers at the church have included Presidents William B. McKinley and William Howard Taft; educators George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington; poet and literary genius Paul Lawrence Dunbar; abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglas; journalist and activist Ida B. Wells; women suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony; and preachers Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.; in recent years, Governors Pat Quinn and Rod Blagojevich, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Congressmen Danny K. Davis, Bobby Rush, and Jesse Jackson, Jr., and then-Senator Barack Obama have spoken at the church; and

WHEREAS, Quinn Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 by the Joint Commission on Landmarks; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church which celebrated its 166th anniversary and wish them many more successful years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Quinn Chapel as an expression of our esteem and respect.