PRINTER'S NO. 3285
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
729
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY RABB, KIM, KORTZ, KINSEY, PASHINSKI, ZABEL,
MILLARD, BURNS, McCLINTON, YOUNGBLOOD AND ROEBUCK,
FEBRUARY 18, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 18, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and achievements of Dr. Noel Ignatiev and
expressing condolences on his passing.
WHEREAS, On November 9, 2019, Noel Ignatiev died at 78 years
of age in Tucson, Arizona; and
WHEREAS, On December 27, 1940, Mr. Ignatiev was born to
working-class Russian-Jewish immigrants in segregated
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ignatiev attended the University of Pennsylvania
for three years before leaving for Chicago to work as a
steelworker; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ignatiev helped organize strikes and protests by
the workers at the steel mill; and
WHEREAS, Despite not having a bachelor's degree, Mr. Ignatiev
was accepted to the Harvard Graduate School of Education where
he received a master's degree in education in 1985 and went on
to earn a doctorate in the history of American civilization in
1994; and
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WHEREAS, Dr. Ignatiev was a fellow at Harvard's W.E.B. DuBois
Research Institute; and
WHEREAS, In 1995, Dr. Ignatiev published his best-known work,
"How the Irish Became White," where he sought to challenge the
operations that institutionalized racial injustice; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ignatiev's work encouraged debate and opened a
conversation on the idea that race is more about power and
privilege than about ancestry and identity; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ignatiev's academic contributions have continued
to educate a new generation experiencing the current resurgence
of white nationalism, which he wrote led to segregation and
other manifestations of racism; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ignatiev's dedication and commitment to social
change and activism addressing race and privilege served as an
essential voice in the world of academia; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
and achievements of Dr. Noel Ignatiev and express condolences on
his passing; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the family of Noel Ignatiev.
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