Title
Recognizing and honoring The Philadelphia OIC for its dedication to the elimination of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy to insuring a meaningful and productive quality of life for youth, adults and families within the Philadelphia community.
Body
WHEREAS, OIC was founded in 1964 by the late Reverend Leon H. Sullivan as a response to the civil unrest in the "sixties" and the related lack of education and job opportunities, particularly for minorities; and
WHEREAS, With local companies refusing to open their doors to job applicants, Reverend Sullivan instituted a "selected patronage" campaign and for one full year, 400 ministers instructed their congregations not to buy certain products. When these same companies realized the economic impact this was having, they reconsidered their positions; and
WHEREAS, OIC opened its first training facility at 19th & Oxford Streets in North Central Philadelphia. From the modest beginning in an abandoned jailhouse, Reverend Sullivan and Reverend Thomas Ritter with a cadre of volunteers and staff over time opened local training sites in West Philadelphia, Germantown and the Fairmount section of the City; and
WHEREAS, This major initiative generated attention in Washington and President Lyndon Johnson visited Philadelphia and his impressions led to the beginning of federal funding for job training. This "movement" gained national attention giving rise to interest groups across the country in urban and rural areas, all seeking to replicate the OIC model; and
WHEREAS, At its apex, OIC had 100 affiliates, all operating under the philosophical banner of, "Helping People Help Themselves". This expansion led to the formation of OICs of America, the parent organization. Since its inception in 1964, OIC has served 3 million people world-wide and over 80,000 in Philadelphia alone; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan believed that the most important civil rights was "economic civil rights" and rather than focus ex...
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