MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Horhn, Barnett, Blackwell, Bryan, Burton, Chassaniol, Clarke, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Hopson, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Norwood, Simmons (12th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION HONORING INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED MISSISSIPPI ACTOR MORGAN FREEMAN UPON HIS RECEIPT OF THE SAG LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT THE 2018 SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS CEREMONY AND THANKING HIM FOR HIS HUMANITARIAN AND CIVIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
WHEREAS, Mississippi Actor Morgan Freeman has been named the 54th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Life Achievement Award, recognizing his career achievements and humanitarian efforts over the years. He will be recognized during the 2018 SAG Awards, which will be simulated on TBS and TNT on January 21, 2018; and
WHEREAS, the award is given annually to an actor who fosters the "finest ideals of the acting profession." Previous SAG Life Achievement Award recipients include: Carol Burnett, Betty White, Elizabeth Taylor, Sidney Poitier, George Burns and James Earl Jones; and
WHEREAS, Morgan Freeman has already received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Film Institute and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, among many other acting accolades. He has been nominated five times for an Academy Award and won for his performance in 2004's "Million Dollar Baby"; and
WHEREAS, Freeman has nearly 100 film credits to his name, including: "Street Smart" (1987), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Glory" (1989), "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), "Seven" (1995), "Amistad" (1997), "Deep Impact" (1998), "Along Came a Spider" (2001), "The Sum of All Fears" (2002), "Bruce Almighty" (2003), "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Bucket List" (2007), "Wanted" (2008), "The Dark Knight" (2008), "Invictus" (2009), "RED" (2010), "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), "Now You See Me" (2013), "Olympus Has Fallen" (2013), "Last Vegas" (2013), "The Lego Movie" (2014), "Lucy" (2014), "Now You See Me 2" (2016), "Momentum" (2015), and "Going In Style" (2017). Freeman's voice is among the most recognizable in entertainment, and he has narrated many documentaries; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, Morgan Freeman appeared before a crowd of fans waiting to see him and witness the unveiling of a Bronze Star in his honor in the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center's Walk of Fame in Meridian, Mississippi. "My parents left Mississippi in the 1930s with the Great Migration and came back in the 1980s," he said. "I started coming back to visit them and each time I came here, it felt right...I finally had the understanding that it felt right because I was home." With the unveiling of this Bronze Star, Freeman smiled and noted, "This is my second Walk of Fame Star and I am as honored to have received it as I was for the first one." The first star is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and
WHEREAS, Freeman grew up near Greenwood and now has a home just outside Charleston in the Mississippi Delta. He and Bill Luckett co-own Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale; and
WHEREAS, some actors spend their entire careers waiting for the perfect role. Morgan Freeman has shown us that true perfection is what a performer brings to the part. He is innovative, fearless and completely unbound by expectations. As a chauffeur, convicted murderer, boxing gym attendant, pimp or president, Morgan fully realized every character, baring their souls and showcasing their humanity. We join the acting community in recognizing his genius at work which has brought pride to the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby join the professional acting community in honoring internationally acclaimed Mississippi Actor Morgan Freeman upon his receipt of the SAG Life Achievement Award at the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ceremony and thanking him for his humanitarian and civic contributions to the State of Mississippi.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Morgan Freeman, forwarded to the Mississippi Arts Commission, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.