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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF WILLIAM GARTH SR.
WHEREAS, Almighty God saw fit to call trailblazing newspaper publisher William Garth Sr. to His side on September 23, 2016; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. grew up one of fifteen (15) children in a rural central Alabama town named Bessemer; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. began working for the Citizen Newspapers in 1969 as an advertising sales representative; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. purchased the Citizen Newspapers chain in 1980 from former Congressman Gus Savage (D-Ill) and turned it into the largest African-American owned newspaper chain in the Midwest. This included the Chatham Southeast Citizen, the South Suburban Citizen, the Chicago Weekend, the Hyde Park Citizen and the South End Citizen; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. became the first African-American to be elected chief of a statewide press organization when he was elected chair of the 480-newspaper Illinois Press Association (IPA) in 1996; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. was an active member of the Rainbow/Push Board and publisher of PUSH magazine; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. was a lifetime member of the NAACP; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. was a founding member of the Chatham Business Association; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. founded a scholarship foundation in the name of his late son Quentis Bernard Garth that has disbursed more than $1 million to college students; and
WHEREAS, William Garth Sr. is survived by his wife, Brenda; his son, Darrell; six stepchildren: Robin, Marla, Myron, Bobbie, Schuyler and Kimani; his sisters: Geraldine Burgess, Orangie Garth, and Charlie Garth; his brothers, X Rashid, Robert Sr., Roosevelt, Jessie, Larry, Joseph and Richard; nine grandchildren; 20 step-grandchildren and 24 step-great-grandchildren.
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 William Garth Sr.; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be tendered to the loved ones of William Garth Sr. as a means of communicating our deep respect for William Garth Sr. fight for civil rights and social change.end