State Senator Collins Observes 150th Anniversary of Amendment Abolishing Slavery

Urges Illinois, first state in the nation to ratify the 13^th Amendment,“to continue the struggle against all forms of injustice threatening our common humanity”

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago 16^th) sponsored a resolution designating February of 2015 as Thirteenth Amendment Ratification Month in commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the amendment’s ratification by Illinois’ legislature. At a ceremony recognizing the 24^th General Assembly’s courage in making Illinois the first state to ratify, Collins, herself the great-granddaughter of a slave, made the following remarks:

The abolition of slavery was long overdue. But we can be proud that on February 1, 1865, our state’s leaders wasted no more time in demanding that the laws of this nation no longer allow one man or woman to own another. Their courageous vote set us on a path we still walk today, and it is my hope that on this anniversary, we will turn our attention to that path – how far we’ve come, how far we must still go and what each one of us can do to get there.

It is with great pride in my state and my colleagues and with determination to continue the struggle against all forms of injustice threatening our common humanity that I urge the adoption of this resolution.