Read the full stored bill text
Senate
Resolution
109
-
Introduced
SENATE
RESOLUTION
NO.
109
BY
QUIRMBACH
and
LOFGREN
A
Resolution
recognizing
the
200th
anniversary
of
the
1
birth
of
Alexander
Clark
and
honoring
his
legacy.
2
WHEREAS,
Iowans
proudly
claim
Alexander
Clark
as
one
3
of
the
state’s
most
illustrious
sons,
whose
endeavors
4
helped
shape
the
legal
and
moral
fabric
of
Iowa
and
the
5
nation;
and
6
WHEREAS,
Alexander
Clark
was
born
on
February
25,
7
1826,
in
Washington,
Pennsylvania,
and
settled
in
8
Muscatine,
Iowa,
in
1842,
where
he
rose
from
barber
and
9
entrepreneur
to
human
rights
champion,
and
eventually
10
served
in
the
highest
diplomatic
post
available
to
11
Black
Americans
in
the
19th
century;
and
12
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
was
a
lay
leader
in
the
African
13
Methodist
Episcopal
Church,
helping
to
found
Iowa’s
14
first
African
Methodist
Episcopal
congregation
in
15
1848,
serving
as
a
delegate
to
numerous
conferences,
16
and
representing
the
denomination
at
an
ecumenical
17
conference
in
London;
and
18
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
emerged
as
a
bold
advocate
for
19
justice
when
he
led
efforts
petitioning
the
delegates
20
to
the
Iowa
Constitutional
Convention
of
1857
to
repeal
21
the
discriminatory
“Black
laws”
that
restricted
the
22
rights
of
African
Americans;
and
23
WHEREAS,
during
the
Civil
War,
Mr.
Clark
served
24
as
the
primary
recruiter
and
honorary
sergeant
major
25
for
the
First
Iowa
Infantry
of
African
Descent,
later
26
designated
the
60th
United
States
Colored
Troops,
and
27
donated
his
recruiting
fees
to
provide
uniforms
and
28
-1-
LSB
6920XS
(4)
91
lh/jm
1/
3
S.R.
109
supplies;
and
1
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
presided
over
a
convention
in
2
October
1865,
when
the
60th
United
States
Colored
3
Troops
mustered
out
at
Davenport,
drafting
a
petition
4
to
the
General
Assembly
demanding
suffrage
and
5
declaring
that
men
“trusted
with
the
musket
can
and
6
ought
to
be
trusted
with
the
ballot”;
and
7
WHEREAS,
in
1867,
Mr.
Clark
challenged
racial
8
exclusion
in
education
by
suing
the
Muscatine
School
9
Board
on
behalf
of
his
daughter,
Susan
Clark,
resulting
10
in
the
landmark
Supreme
Court
ruling,
Clark
v.
Board
of
11
School
Directors
,
24
Iowa
266
(1868),
which
integrated
12
Iowa’s
public
schools
86
years
before
the
Supreme
Court
13
of
the
United
States
decision
in
Brown
v.
Board
of
14
Education
,
347
U.S.
483
(1954);
and
15
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
was
prominent
in
the
movement
16
that
successfully
amended
the
Constitution
of
the
17
State
of
Iowa
in
1868
by
striking
the
word
“white”
from
18
Iowa’s
founding
document
and
securing
the
right
to
vote
19
for
Black
men;
and
20
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
traveled
widely
as
a
high-ranking
21
Grand
Master
of
the
Prince
Hall
Masons,
gaining
renown
22
as
the
“Colored
Orator
of
the
West”;
and
23
WHEREAS,
in
1884,
at
the
age
of
58,
Mr.
Clark
24
graduated
from
the
University
of
Iowa
College
of
Law,
25
becoming
the
institution’s
second
Black
graduate,
26
following
his
son,
Alexander
G.
Clark;
and
27
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
was
the
owner
and
editor
of
the
28
Chicago
Conservator
and
achieved
a
national
reputation
29
as
a
leader
among
Black
publishers;
and
30
-2-
LSB
6920XS
(4)
91
lh/jm
2/
3
S.R.
109
WHEREAS,
Mr.
Clark
concluded
his
career
of
public
1
service
as
United
States
Minister
to
Liberia,
having
2
been
appointed
by
President
Benjamin
Harrison;
and
3
WHEREAS,
the
Alexander
Clark
House
in
Muscatine
4
stands
today
as
a
historic
landmark,
serving
as
a
5
testament
to
a
life
dedicated
to
the
principle
of
human
6
equality;
NOW
THEREFORE,
7
BE
IT
RESOLVED
BY
THE
SENATE,
That
the
Senate
8
recognizes
February
25,
2026,
as
the
200th
anniversary
9
of
the
birth
of
Alexander
Clark
and
honors
his
legacy
10
as
an
Iowan
whose
example
continues
to
inspire
the
11
pursuit
of
human
freedom
and
equality.
12
-3-
LSB
6920XS
(4)
91
lh/jm
3/
3