|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, The Texas Legislative Black Caucus is hosting the |
|
African American Legislative Summit in Austin from February 26 to |
|
28, 2017; and |
|
WHEREAS, Founded in 1973, the Texas Legislative Black Caucus |
|
is dedicated to addressing the issues that confront African |
|
Americans across the state; it has grown from an initial group of 8 |
|
members to a current membership of 19 legislators, including 17 |
|
from the Texas House of Representatives and 2 from the Texas Senate; |
|
in addition to the biennial African American Legislative Summit, |
|
caucus initiatives include the TLBC Scholarship Program benefiting |
|
promising young people; and |
|
WHEREAS, The theme for the 2017 summit is "Transforming |
|
Struggle into Progress"; the event encompasses a number of panel |
|
discussions on such topics as health care, education, economic |
|
development, and youth and young adult concerns; and |
|
WHEREAS, At the Chair's Award Gala, the caucus is honoring |
|
Roland Parrish, philanthropist and chief executive officer of |
|
Parrish McDonald's Restaurants, which owns some two dozen |
|
franchises in North Texas; the summit also features two |
|
distinguished keynote speakers, both native Texans; Ruth Simmons |
|
will address the Scholarship Banquet, sharing her insights as the |
|
former president of Smith College and Brown University and the |
|
first African American to head an Ivy League institution; the |
|
keynote speaker for the Community Awards Breakfast is Rushion |
|
McDonald, the entertainment industry titan best known for shaping |
|
and sustaining performer Steve Harvey's multimedia career; and |
|
WHEREAS, The African American Legislative Summit provides an |
|
outstanding opportunity for Texans to meet policy makers, analyze |
|
the challenges of contemporary society, and unite their efforts in |
|
order to build a brighter future for their fellow citizens; now, |
|
therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the 2017 African American |
|
Legislative Summit and extend to all those participating sincere |
|
best wishes for an informative, productive, and enjoyable event. |