Bill Text: IL HR0617 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizes the life and legacy of Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone, an African American entrepreneur and philanthropist during the early 20th century.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-02-22 - Resolution Adopted [HR0617 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0617-Introduced.html

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HR0617 LRB103 39600 MST 69898 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to recognize the life and legacy of Annie
Minerva Turnbo Malone, an African American entrepreneur and
philanthropist during the early 20th century; and
WHEREAS, Annie Malone was born in Metropolis on August 9,
1869, the tenth of 11 children of Robert and Isabella Cook
Turnbo; she attended school in Illinois but especially enjoyed
fashioning her own and her sister's hair, becoming aware of
differences in hair texture; by 1889, she had developed her
own scalp and hair products that she demonstrated and sold
from a buggy throughout Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Annie Malone's business growth led her to St.
Louis, Missouri in 1902, which at the time held the
fourth-largest population of African Americans; she
copyrighted her Poro brand beauty products, and through her
business model that used local sales agents, she offered
career opportunities and economic independence to African
American women at a time when little was available; and
WHEREAS, Committed to community building and social
welfare, Annie Malone founded Poro College in 1987, a complex
that included her business offices, manufacturing operation,

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and training center, as well as facilities for civic,
religious, and social functions; many local and national
organizations, including the National Negro Business League,
were housed in the facility or used it for business functions;
by 1926, the college employed 175 people and had franchised
outlets in North and South America, Africa and the
Philippines; by 1930, she had moved from Missouri and settled
on Chicago's South Side; and
WHEREAS, Annie Malone is recorded as the first Black woman
millionaire in the U. S. based on reports of $14 million in
assets held in 1920 from her beauty and cosmetic enterprises;
and
WHEREAS, Annie Malone served as board president of the St.
Louis Colored Orphan's Home from 1919 to 1943; she donated the
first $10,000 to build the orphanage's new building in 1919;
during the 1920s, her philanthropy included financing the
education of two full-time students in every historically
black college and university; her $25,000 donation to Howard
University was among the largest gifts the university had
received by a private donor of African descent; and
WHEREAS, Annie Malone was treated for a stroke at
Provident Hospital in Chicago on May 10, 1957, where she died;
at the time of her death, Poro beauty colleges were in

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operation in more than 30 U.S. cities; and
WHEREAS, Annie Malone's memory is honored in St. Louis
with the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center whose
mission is to improve the quality of life for children,
families, elderly, and the community by providing social
services, educational programs, advocacy, and
entrepreneurship; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we recognize the life and legacy of Annie Minerva Turnbo
Malone, an African American entrepreneur and philanthropist
during the early 20th century; and be it further