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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION HONORING SPENCER LEAK, SR. AND THE NEHEMIAH PROJECT
WHEREAS, Spencer Leak, Sr. was born April 15, 1937, to pioneering Chicago mortician A.R. Leak, who opened Unity Funeral Home in Chicago in 1933 and A.R. Leak Funeral Chapels in 1938; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak and his three brothers grew up near 37th and State Streets, attended Raymond Elementary School, and graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1956 and went on to attend Wilson Junior College, and graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 1959; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak served in the United States Army and later became involved in the Civil Rights Movement; In 1964, he joined 10,000 activists led by his father and Reverend Clay Evans to protest the racially segregated Oak Woods Cemetery eventually integrating it; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak is a lifelong resident and supporter of Chicago, a second generation in the Funeral Business for Leak and Sons Funeral Homes for which he serves as Funeral Director and President, and his sons are the 3rd generation and his grandchildren are the 4th generation; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak has been married for 50 years to Henrietta Leak, is the father of three and grandfather of 6; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak was a former Director of Cook County Corrections, where he worked to rehabilitate inmates and give them a start on the path to success; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak has a long history as a concerned philanthropist and community activist, and provides a forum for religious, civic and political issues to be discussed every Sunday on the radio broadcast named after the book he authored entitled "It's Time Truth Speaks; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Leak is a recipient of a multitude of Humanitarian Awards in support of the work he has done to support families across the city and consistently donates services to families who cannot afford them; and
WHEREAS, at 82 years old, Spencer Leak, Sr. has stated, "He does not want his legacy to be that he helped bury th...
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