PRINTER'S NO. 3248
No. 603 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, PARKER, YOUNGBLOOD, BISHOP AND
MANDERINO, FEBRUARY 14, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
FEBRUARY 14, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring the late Senator Roxanne H. Jones, a member of the
2 General Assembly from 1984 to 1996.
3 WHEREAS, Senator Roxanne H. Jones was born May 3, 1928, in
4 South Carolina, the daughter of Gilford and Mary Beatrice Burton
5 Harper; and
6 WHEREAS, Senator Jones became the first African-American
7 woman elected to the Senate of Pennsylvania in 1984; and
8 WHEREAS, Senator Jones was reelected to represent the Third
9 Senatorial District in 1988 and 1992, and her heart and passion
10 propelled her into the role of champion for Philadelphia's less
11 fortunate citizens and advocate for a population which thought
12 it had no voice; and
13 WHEREAS, Senator Jones worked with the Philadelphia
14 Opportunities Industrialization Center and was a former
15 chairwoman of the Philadelphia Welfare Rights Organization
16 before her election to the Senate; and
17 WHEREAS, With her heart and roots in the community and her
1 mind well-tuned to the dictates and precepts of our modern
2 society, Senator Jones functioned as an effective agent for
3 change on behalf of her constituents and all the citizens of
4 this Commonwealth; and
5 WHEREAS, Senator Jones served with compassion, a public-
6 spirited focus and a commitment to the common good; and
7 WHEREAS, The presence of the late Senator Jones continues to
8 be felt in local Philadelphia communities and in the General
9 Assembly every time welfare-to-work measures or legislation on
10 behalf of poor people are introduced; and
11 WHEREAS, The North Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
12 established the Roxy Awards in 1998 to honor Senator Jones'
13 pioneering spirit; therefore be it
14 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the late
15 Senator Roxanne H. Jones, family member, activist, friend and
16 esteemed legislator, whose noble actions manifested the highest
17 traditions of public service.
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