AJR8: Joint Resolution Text

LRB-1315/3

CGR:cjs:ch

2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE

2003 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 8

January 23, 2003 - Introduced by Representatives Young, Coggs, Morris, Turner, A. Williams, Colon, Gronemus, Boyle, Black, Travis, Bies, Sinicki, Ladwig, Hahn, Kreuser, Schneider, Miller, Nischke, Gunderson, Krug, Ott, Plouff, Richards, Pocan, Jeskewitz and Petrowski, cosponsored by Senators Moore, George, Carpenter, Risser, Wirch, Erpenbach and Schultz. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AJR8,1,1 Relating to: the life and public service of Lloyd A. Barbee.

AJR8,1,3 Whereas, Lloyd A. Barbee was born on August 17, 1925, in Memphis, Tennessee, and died on December 29, 2002, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and

AJR8,1,5 Whereas, he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis; and

AJR8,1,8 Whereas, Mr. Barbee earned a B.A. degree in economics in 1949 from LeMoyne College in Memphis and a J.D. degree in 1956 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and

AJR8,1,10 Whereas, he served his country as a member of the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1943 to 1946; and

AJR8,1,14 Whereas, Lloyd Augustus Barbee was a tireless freedom fighter, civil rights leader, civil rights attorney, Wisconsin state representative, professor of Africology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and role model of moral and ethical behavior for the entire world; and

AJR8,2,2 Whereas, he also taught at the University of Wisconsin Law School and the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York; and

AJR8,2,4 Whereas, according to the Wisconsin Lawyer: "Lloyd Barbee is probably the most important figure of the 20th century in Wisconsin civil rights."; and

AJR8,2,6 Whereas, Mr. Barbee served as chairman of the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC); and

AJR8,2,9 Whereas, in 1965, Mr. Barbee filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of both African American children and white children that led to the ruling that Milwaukee's public schools were unconstitutionally segregated; and

AJR8,2,11 Whereas, from 1969 to 1973, he served as president of Freedom Through Equality, a Milwaukee group established to reform laws detrimental to the poor; and

AJR8,2,14 Whereas, Mr. Barbee was first elected to the Wisconsin assembly in 1964 (Milwaukee, 6th — later renumbered the 18th — Assembly District), serving in the 1965 through 1975 sessions; and

AJR8,2,17 Whereas, during his tenure in the legislature, Mr. Barbee quickly earned a reputation as a stalwart advocate for social change, even when there was little chance for political success; and

AJR8,2,20 Whereas, he introduced legislation to repeal laws on what he called "victimless crimes" and was an early advocate for open housing and eliminating job discrimination; and

AJR8,2,24 Whereas, Mr. Barbee received numerous awards and honors, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Eunice Z. Edgar Award for Lifetime Civil Liberties Achievement and the Wisconsin Association of Minority Attorneys Award for Inspirational Leadership and Outstanding Dedication; and

AJR8,3,2 Whereas, in 1999, Mayor John Norquist named a Milwaukee street "Barbee Street" in Mr. Barbee's honor; and

AJR8,3,4 Whereas, Mr. Barbee received an honorary doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001; now, therefore, be it

AJR8,3,8 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the devoted public service that Lloyd A. Barbee contributed to this state and his community, express their sorrow at his death, and extend their condolences to his family and friends; and, be it further

AJR8,3,11 Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to Mr. Barbee's daughter, Daphne Eurydice Barbee-Wooten; to his sons, Finn Thacher Barbee and Rustam Aaron Barbee; and to his brother, Quinten Barbee.

AJR8,3,12 (End)