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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Antonio Cornelius Baker, a longtime champion of |
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people with HIV and AIDS, passed away in Washington, D.C., on |
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November 8, 2024, at the age of 63; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Sodus, New York, on September 30, 1961, |
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Cornelius Baker graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology's |
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Eisenhower College; he joined the George H. W. Bush administration |
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in 1989 and worked in the White House Presidential Personnel Office |
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before becoming an assistant in the U.S. Department of Health and |
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Human Services national AIDS program; in that role, he was |
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instrumental in securing HHS funding for cities and minority |
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communities most affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis; he set an example |
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for other gay Black men as an early volunteer in the National |
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Institutes of Health's AIDS vaccine trials; later, as executive |
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director of the National Association of People with AIDS, he helped |
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reduce stigma through the establishment of National HIV Testing |
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Day; in 1999, he was named executive director of the Whitman-Walker |
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Clinic; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the years, Mr. Baker served on the boards of |
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many groups committed to addressing HIV/AIDS and held key advisory |
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and policy positions with a number of nonprofit and governmental |
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organizations, including the NIH Office of AIDS Research; as a |
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cofounder and policy advisor of the National Black Gay Men's |
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Advocacy Coalition, he worked with the NIH and the Centers for |
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Disease Control and Prevention on research funding for the care of |
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gay Black men with HIV and AIDS; he loved the theater and served for |
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three decades as a trustee of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; a |
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man of deep faith and boundless compassion, he made time to visit |
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and call the sick, comfort the suffering, and assist those in need |
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of food and shelter; his myriad accolades included the Award of |
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Courage from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and a James |
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Baldwin Legacy Award from the National Black Justice Coalition; and |
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WHEREAS, Through his vision and tireless leadership, |
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Cornelius Baker made the world a better place, and those he left |
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behind will continue to find inspiration in his kind, joyful nature |
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and fierce advocacy for the most vulnerable; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Antonio Cornelius |
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Baker and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Cornelius |
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Baker. |