HR0029 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0029 LRB098 07764 MST 37843 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Representative Monique D. Davis and the members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon, founder and minister of Christ Universal Temple, on her being selected as the First Annual Living Legends Award recipient by the Westside Center of Truth for Better Living; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon has been a trailblazer of positive thought teachings and became a religious icon in this country and abroad over her more than 50 years of ministry; she grew her membership from 6 people sitting around a kitchen table in her home to approximately 15,000 members and built a 4,000-plus seating capacity mega church, a 20-classroom teaching facility, a state-of-the-art elementary school (The Johnnie Colemon Academy), and a 1,000-plus seat banquet facility (The Legacy); and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon enrolled in the Unity School of Practical Christianity, Lee's Summit, Missouri, where she received her teaching certificate and became an ordained minister; she has pioneered many "firsts" while at Unity, including being the first black person to live at Unity Village and the first to have been elected president of the Association of Unity Churches; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon organized the Universal Foundation For Better Living, Incorporated in 1974 in connection with the International New Thought Alliance (INTA); as a member of the INTA, she served as the district president and was chairperson of the 80th INTA Congress held in Chicago; her extensive travels have taken her to London, England, to be guest speaker at the festival of Mind and Body; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon was an early pioneer of media ministry in the 1970s and appeared weekly with her telecast, Better Living With Johnnie Colemon, which aired in 9 markets; she has been the subject of featured articles and broadcasts, and major media publications, and has been a popular guest on radio and television; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards; she has received the Ministry Of The Century Award from the INTA and an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from her alma mater, Wiley College in Texas; she obtained her degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and a Doctor of Divinity from Monrovia College and Industrial Institute of African Methodist Episcopal Church in Monrovia, Liberia; she has received proclamations from the State of Illinois, City of Chicago, State of Michigan, Ohio House of Representatives, Michigan Legislature, City of Oakland, California, City of Miami, Florida, and many others; her portrait hangs at Morehouse College in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Center; she served as director of the Chicago Port Authority and as commissioner of the Chicago Transit Authority Oversight Committee; she has been recognized as Chicago's Living Legends by the Institute for African American Youth Development and honored by the DuSable Museum as an African American History Maker; and

WHEREAS, The Johnnie Colemon Academy opened on September 7, 1999, and is the most recent addition to the 32-acre campus; in February 2001, the elementary school became one of the Chicago public schools and serves as a model learning center; in 2006, Rev. Dr. Colemon retired as Senior Minister of Christ Universal Temple, but continues to be a driving force for the ministry she founded and led for over 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon will be honored at the First Annual Living Legends Awards Banquet on February 23, 2013, at The Legacy in Chicago, Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon on her being selected as the First Annual Living Legends Award recipient by the Westside Center of Truth for Better Living; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Rev. Dr. Johnnie Colemon as an expression of our esteem and respect.