RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE DEDICATION OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE'S NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
WHEREAS, The National Museum of African American History and Culture will hold its dedication ceremony on September 24, 2016; and
WHEREAS, Established as the 19lh Smithsonian museum by an Act of Congress through legislation signed into law in 2003, this facility is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture; and
WHEREAS, This museum, encompassing almost 400,000 square feet, will be the nation's largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history; and
WHEREAS, Chicago acknowledges a special connection to this newest of national museums. Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan donated $5 million to its support as well as one of his 1996 NBA Finals home jersey. Another prominent Chicagoan, the Honorable Barack H. Obama, President of the United States of America, will be present at the dedication; and
WHEREAS, One of the inaugural exhibits, "The Power of Place", showcases Chicago's black urban life and notes it is home to the Chicago Defender since 1905. In another inaugural exhibit titled "Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876 -1968", a single casket is one of the most powerful and moving artifacts the museum will display; and
WHEREAS, It was in this casket that Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmitt Till, allowed the public to view her son's disfigured remains following a lynching in Money, Mississippi in 1955. This action was viewed by many historians to be a pivotal moment it the civil rights struggle and galvanized momentum toward the fight for equal rights for black citizens in the United States; and
WHEREAS, The 84th & Wabash Block Club, has established a committee of member residents commissioned to continue the legacy of Mamie Till-Mobley whose home was on their block. Until her death in 2003, she was a constant advocate of causes to benefit the black community and will always be memorialized as an icon of the civil rights movement; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Roderick Sawyer, Alderman of the 6,h Ward, has informed this august body of the Smithsonian's historic dedication ceremony and the remarkable woman who made such a significant contribution to the African American story this museum enshrines; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City of Chicago City Council, gathered this 14lh Day of September, 2016 AD, do hereby salute the Smithsonian Institute upon the dedication of their National Museum of African American History and Culture and commend the 84th & Wabash Block Club for its dedication to preserving the memory of Mamie Till-Mobley and her son, Emmet Till
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be prepared and presented to Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and the 84th & Wabash Block Club.
Alderman - 6,h Ward