PRINTER'S NO. 495
No. 87 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, BAKER, BELFANTI, BISHOP, BLACKWELL, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, CURRY, DENLINGER, DePASQUALE, DeWEESE, DONATUCCI, FABRIZIO, GALLOWAY, GEIST, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HESS, JAMES, JOSEPHS, MANDERINO, MANTZ, MILLARD, M. O'BRIEN, PARKER, PETRONE, PHILLIPS, RAMALEY, SCAVELLO, SONNEY, STURLA, THOMAS, VULAKOVICH, YOUNGBLOOD, WHEATLEY, VEREB, DALEY AND D. O'BRIEN, FEBRUARY 26, 2007
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, FEBRUARY 26, 2007
A RESOLUTION 1 Commemorating the achievements and contributions the late 2 Honorable K. Leroy Irvis made to the General Assembly and the 3 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 4 WHEREAS, K. Leroy Irvis was born in Saugerties, New York, on 5 December 27, 1919; and 6 WHEREAS, In 1938 Mr. Irvis became only the second African 7 American to graduate from the University of New York State 8 Teachers College, graduating summa cum laude; and 9 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis received a master's degree from the State 10 University of New York at Albany and earned a law degree from 11 the University of Pittsburgh; and 12 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis put his master's degree in education to 13 good use teaching English and history in Baltimore high schools; 14 and 15 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis became a civilian flying instructor in the
1 War Department during World War II; and 2 WHEREAS, As a young community activist in Pittsburgh, Mr. 3 Irvis organized the first demonstration in the United States 4 against department stores for their discriminatory hiring 5 practices against African Americans; and 6 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis was elected to the Pennsylvania House of 7 Representatives in 1958 and was subsequently reelected 15 8 consecutive times; and 9 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis served the House of Representatives and 10 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with distinction as Minority 11 Caucus Chairman, Majority Caucus Chairman, Minority Whip, 12 Minority Leader and Majority Leader; and 13 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis was elected the 130th Speaker of the House 14 of Representatives, becoming the first Speaker of African- 15 American heritage in the United States; and 16 WHEREAS, In his acknowledgement speech upon becoming Speaker, 17 Mr. Irvis remarked, "You have elected not a black man to be 18 Speaker of the House of Representatives, but more importantly, 19 you have elected a man who happens to be black, and that is the 20 direction that this country must continue to go"; and 21 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis served ably as Speaker from 1977 to 1978 22 and from 1983 to 1988 and sponsored a record 264 bills that 23 became law during his legislative career; and 24 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis retired from politics in 1988 and then 25 authored a book of poems entitled "This Land of Fire"; and 26 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis was also a gifted artist whose wood 27 sculptures have been displayed in exhibits throughout the United 28 States; and 29 WHEREAS, Mr. Irvis was a legislative leader in many areas of 30 public policy, including education, civil rights, health, 20070H0087R0495 - 2 -
1 consumer protection, housing and governmental reform; and 2 WHEREAS, Many organizations and institutions have honored Mr. 3 Irvis for his distinguished record of public service, including 4 the NAACP, the University of Pennsylvania, Lincoln University of 5 Pennsylvania, the Urban League, the University of Pittsburgh and 6 the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition; and 7 WHEREAS, As a fitting tribute to his distinguished service to 8 the General Assembly and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the 9 South Office Building in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg has 10 been formally renamed the Speaker K. Leroy Irvis Office 11 Building; and 12 WHEREAS, On March 16, 2006, Mr. Irvis died at the age of 86; 13 therefore be it 14 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor and 15 commemorate the lifetime of service and achievement of the 16 Honorable K. Leroy Irvis. B12L82BIL/20070H0087R0495 - 3 -