Bill Text: GA HR601 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Robinson, Dr. Amelia Platts Boynton; recognize
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-03-16 - House Read and Adopted [HR601 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HR601-Introduced.html
11 LC
94 4430
House
Resolution 601
By:
Representatives Abdul-Salaam of the
74th,
Brooks of the
63rd,
Bryant of the
160th,
Morgan of the
39th,
Gordon of the
162nd,
and others
A
RESOLUTION
Commending
Dr. Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson on the occasion of her 100th birthday and
recognizing her impact on Civil Rights in America; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
born in 1911, Dr. Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson spent her youth during the
1920's riding in a buggy with her mother, passing out voter registration cards
and encouraging African American women to vote; and
WHEREAS,
she enrolled in Georgia State College at the age of 14 and transferred to
Tuskegee Institute two years later, where she studied economics from George
Washington Carver, met her husband, Samuel W. Boynton, and ultimately earned a
degree; and
WHEREAS,
in 1930, Dr. Boynton Robinson became one of the first black Americans to
register to vote in Selma, Alabama; and
WHEREAS,
she and her husband served as home demonstration agents for the United States
Department of Agriculture, where they met with sharecroppers and families of
former slaves to teach them everything from personal hygiene to farming and home
economics to child care; and
WHEREAS,
the Boyntons headed the Dallas County Voter Rights League during the 1960's,
where they represented and sponsored many citizens who were unable to vote
because they could not read, and by 1963 had registered approximately 125 black
voters in the most racist county in Selma; and
WHEREAS,
after witnessing Alabama school children with nothing to eat for lunch, Dr.
Boynton Robinson envisioned the School Lunch Program, which is now available to
students in every state; and
WHEREAS,
she became the first woman to run for Congress from the State of Alabama in 1964
and was a member of the "Courageous Eight" who sought to reinvigorate the waning
Selma movement; and
WHEREAS,
during the infamous March over Edmund Pettus Bridge for equal rights in March,
1965, Dr. Boynton Robinson and numerous others were beaten and gassed, and the
image of her lifeless body left on the bridge was broadcast on television news
shows around the world; and
WHEREAS,
she protested the Vietnam War and has traveled to other countries and continents
to spread ideas for nonviolent social change, including Pakistan, Jordan, and
Africa; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. Boynton Robinson was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr., Medal of Freedom
in 1990, and this year, she enjoys the rare distinction of celebrating her 100th
birthday with a centennial celebration of her lifetime of achievements to be
held in Atlanta with a fundraiser to renovate the Boynton homestead into the
S.W. and Amelia Boynton Journey to Freedom Wax Museum.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of
this body commend Dr. Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson on her numerous
contributions to social change and congratulate her upon the grand occasion of
her 100th birthday.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Dr. Amelia
Platts Boynton Robinson.
