A Concurrent Resolution

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR SENATOR ROBERT FORD OF 12 CHARLESTON COUNTY, UPON THE OCCASION OF THE 13 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS 14 MOVEMENT, AND TO EXPRESS PROFOUND GRATITUDE 15 TO HIM FOR HIS MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS OF 16 DEDICATED SERVICE DURING THAT STRUGGLE AND 17 FOR HIS CONTINUED EFFORTS TO BRING ABOUT 18 RACIAL HEALING. 19 20 Whereas, it is only fitting that the members of the South Carolina 21 General Assembly pause in their deliberations to commend their 22 colleague, Senator Robert Ford, representing District 42, for his 23 consistent devotion to the struggle for civil rights; and 24 25 Whereas, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 26, 1948, 26 Robert Ford attended Grambling State University in Grambling, 27 Louisiana, on an athletic scholarship and Wayne State University 28 in Detroit, Michigan; and 29 30 Whereas, he began a career as a civil rights activist at the age of 31 thirteen, serving as a student leader in the New Orleans branch of 32 the NAACP; and 33 34 Whereas, as a teenager, he traveled to Alabama where he worked 35 on voter registration with the Southern Christian Leadership 36 Conference (SCLC), and he worked for the late Reverend Dr. 37 Martin Luther King, Jr., in the SCLC, under the guidance of the 38 late Reverends James E. Orange and James L. Bevel, both aides to 39 Dr. King; and 40 41 Whereas, he helped to organize the Louisiana Caravan to 42 Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington for Jobs and

[414] 1 1 Freedom in 1963 and attended the event where Dr. King delivered 2 his famous “I Have a Dream” speech; and 3 4 Whereas, having traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to support 5 striking sanitation workers as part of an SCLC advance team for 6 Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign, nineteenyearold Ford was in 7 Memphis, on the fateful day of April 4, 1968, when Dr. King was 8 assassinated; and 9 10 Whereas, as a result of his work in civil and human rights, young 11 Robert Ford, was arrested seventythree times in seventeen states 12 between 1962 and 1973; and 13 14 Whereas, six years after the death of Dr. King, Robert Ford’s 15 efforts prompted the United States Justice Department to bar 16 Charleston from annexing, an effort to dilute black voting strength, 17 which led to the election of six black Charleston City Council 18 members, including Robert Ford. He served there from 1974 until 19 1992 and has served in South Carolina’s Senate since 1993; and 20 21 Whereas, to mark the struggles and the successes of the past fifty 22 years and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights 23 Movement, seven cities will launch a series of events to focus on 24 the stories of individuals for the benefit of a new generation. The 25 cities organizing and collaborating on the events include 26 Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Alabama; Jackson, 27 Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Columbia, South Carolina; and 28 Washington, D. C.; and 29 30 Whereas, the members of the General Assembly of the State of 31 South Carolina are grateful for the outstanding efforts of Senator 32 Robert Ford in the struggle for racial equality and civil rights, 33 spanning more than a half century. Now, therefore, 34 35 Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives 36 concurring: 37 38 That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South 39 Carolina, by this resolution, recognize and honor Senator Robert 40 Ford of Charleston County, upon the occasion of the fiftieth 41 anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement, and express profound 42 gratitude to him for his more than fifty years of dedicated service

[414] 2 1 during that struggle and for his continued efforts to bring about 2 racial healing. 3 4 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to 5 Senator Robert Ford. 6 XX 7

[414] 3