PRINTER'S NO. 946
No. 69 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY KITCHEN, MELLOW, CONTI, TARTAGLIONE, STACK,
HUGHES, KUKOVICH, FUMO AND WILLIAMS, APRIL 30, 2001
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, APRIL 30, 2001
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring the memory of Leon Howard Sullivan, pastor, community
2 activist, humanitarian and international leader.
3 WHEREAS, The Reverend Leon Howard Sullivan, known as the Lion
4 of Zion for his zeal and dedication, died on April 24, 2001, at
5 the age of 78; and
6 WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan served as an associate pastor of
7 the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem; and
8 WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan came to Philadelphia and served as
9 pastor of the Zion Baptist Church from 1950 until retiring from
10 the position in 1988; and
11 WHEREAS, During his service at the Zion Baptist Church,
12 Reverend Sullivan advocated self-help economic strategies and
13 community empowerment, such as job training and economic
14 boycotts, to change the policies of segregation; and
15 WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan founded a savings cooperative,
16 Progressive Investment Associates, whose members contributed on
17 a monthly basis to form seed money which was used to construct
1 the first and largest shopping center owned by African-Americans
2 in a major urban area; and
3 WHEREAS, In 1964 Reverend Sullivan founded the Opportunities
4 Industrialization Centers (OIC), the nation's first
5 nongovernment, community-based job training program, which
6 helped more than 1.5 million individuals in 100 cities and 19
7 countries find productive employment; and
8 WHEREAS, While serving on the board of directors of the
9 General Motors Corporation, Reverend Sullivan urged the
10 corporation to stop business dealings and to withdraw from South
11 Africa until the country ended its segregationist policies of
12 apartheid; and
13 WHEREAS, In 1977 Reverend Sullivan created a list of demands,
14 known as the "Sullivan Principles," which urged American
15 multinational corporations to withdraw all business from South
16 Africa until the country dedicated itself to desegregation,
17 equal pay and employment, training programs, job promotions and
18 better living conditions for minorities; and
19 WHEREAS, Thirteen multinational corporations immediately
20 agreed to the document and by 1984 an additional 100 companies
21 joined the boycott in opposition to the continuation of
22 apartheid policies in South Africa; and
23 WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan urged that South Africa release
24 Nelson Mandela, the country's imprisoned human rights activist,
25 abolish apartheid laws and permit all South Africans to vote;
26 and
27 WHEREAS, After retiring as pastor of Zion Baptist Church in
28 1988, Reverend Sullivan moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to direct the
29 International Foundation for Education and Self-Help, which he
30 founded in 1981; and
20010S0069R0946 - 2 -
1 WHEREAS, Reverend Sullivan was a devoted family man;
2 therefore be it
3 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 note with great sadness the passing of Reverend Leon Howard
5 Sullivan, a pastor, community activist, humanitarian,
6 international leader, devoted father and husband, whose
7 considerable humanitarian and human-rights contributions extend
8 from Philadelphia and Phoenix, Arizona, across the nation and
9 into numerous foreign countries; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That the Senate extend its heartfelt condolences to
11 his wife, Grace, daughters, Hope and Julie, son, Howard, and
12 grandchildren; and be it further
13 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
14 the family of the Reverend Leon Howard Sullivan.
D30L82SFL/20010S0069R0946 - 3 -