MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives Henley, Criswell, Eubanks, Foster, Hale, Hopkins, Kinkade, Gibbs (72nd)
A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING DR. LESLIE BURL MCLEMORE UPON BEING PRESENTED THE PRESTIGIOUS CORA NORMAN AWARD BY THE MISSISSIPPI HUMANITIES COUNCIL.
WHEREAS, Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore is a revered man of many facets, civil rights pioneer, university professor, champion of the arts and humanities, newly elected Walls alderman, and now, the recipient of the prestigious "Cora Norman Award"; and
WHEREAS, the Cora Norman Award will be awarded to Dr. McLemore as part of the 2018 Public Humanities Awards to be presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi, on February 16, 2018; and
WHEREAS, named for the Mississippi Humanities Council's founding director, who guided the council for its first 24 years, the Cora Norman Award honors extraordinary individuals, such as Dr. McLemore, who have made significant lifetime contributions to the public humanities in Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Dr. McLemore, the former board chair of the Mississippi Humanities Council, has been involved in the public arena for more than half a century and continues in that spotlight as the newly elected Walls alderman, a role which he will fill with efficiency and effectiveness; and
WHEREAS, additionally, Dr. McLemore was a professor at Jackson State University, and during his tenure there, he served on the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy Board, which gave him the opportunity to work directly under the cardinal guidance and benevolent tutelage of Cora Norman herself; and
WHEREAS, Dr. McLemore has dedicated his academic life and career to determining how change for the better can occur through the arts and humanities, just like Cora Norman did, and he is truly delighted to receive an award named in her honor, a remarkable, courageous woman who did more to embrace and enhance the improvements of race relations in Mississippi and bring about a sense of racial healing than anyone else; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend the magnificent contributions and unparalleled commitment to the arts and humanities that exceptional Mississippians such as Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore have provided to the citizens of this great Magnolia State:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore upon being presented the prestigious Cora Norman Award by the Mississippi Humanities Council, and extend best wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Dr. McLemore and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.