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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE OF MARK Q. SAWYER, Ph.D.
WHEREAS, Almighty God saw fit to call Mark Quentin Sawyer to his side on March 26, 2017; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer was born to the union of Ernest and Theresa Sawyer on January 10, 1972; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in 1990. While attending St. Ignatius he helped established the Black Organization of Students (BOS); and
WHEREAS Mark Sawyer graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.A. in Political Science in 1994; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer graduated from the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1999; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer began teaching at UCLA in 1999 where he co-founded the Race, Ethnicity and Politics program in the UCLA Department of Political Science; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer, in addition to serving in several leadership positions at UCLA, drafted and shepherded the application the ultimately resulted in departmentalization of the UCLA Department of African American Studies; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer was a published author. He published widely on racial political, gender, immigration and coalition politics; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer’s first book, “Racial Politics in Post - Revolutionary Cuba,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, earned critical acclaim and garnered major prizes in his field; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer married Celia Lacayo in 2007 and together they welcomed their wonderful daughter into the world; and
WHEREAS, Mark Sawyer is survived by his wife, Celia; his daughter Nina; his parents Ernest and Theresa; his brother Michael; his Aunt Joyce; his niece and nephew Ashley and Ellis Sawyer and a host of other loved ones.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, do extend their deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathy to the family as well as to the many friends and loved ones of Mark Quentin Sawyer; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be tendered to the loved ones of Mark Quentin Sawyer as a means of communicating our deep respect for his fight for civil rights and social change.
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