Title
Celebrating the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Leon H. Sullivan, "The Lion of Zion," on the occasion of his 100th Birthday.
Body
WHEREAS, Born on October 16, 1922, Reverend Dr. Leon H. Sullivan was a civil rights and social justice leader who advocated for social and economic equity through job and entrepreneurship training, investment in Black-owned businesses, community and housing development, and much more; and
WHEREAS, In the early 1960s, Reverend Sullivan fought job discrimination by leading more than 400 Black ministers and their congregations in a successful boycott campaign called Selective Patronage, which opened the doors to 4,000 job opportunities for Blacks in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In 1964, Reverend Sullivan responded to the need for job training by establishing the Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC), first from an abandoned jailhouse in North Philadelphia, then in over 75 cities across 34 states, and globally in 16 African countries, Poland, Belize, Great Britain, and the Philippines; and
WHEREAS, In 1966, as part of his 10-36 Plan, encouraging individuals to invest in the economic future of their communities, he founded the Leon H. Sullivan Charitable Trust and the Progress Investment Associates, through which numerous economic development and social services programs were developed and funded; and
WHEREAS, In 1977, Reverend Sullivan established the Sullivan Principles, a campaign and code of conduct for human rights and equal opportunity for companies operating in apartheid-era South Africa, which would serve as a catalyst for the end of apartheid and White minority rule; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan envisioned building a bridge between Africa and America, so thus created a broader array of programs such as Teachers for Africa through the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) in 1988, and through his series of convenings of world and business leaders in his African-African American Summits start...
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