S*0804 Concurrent Resolution, By Ford
 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE DR. ARTHUR A. FLETCHER FOR A LIFETIME OF
 ACHIEVEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND THE STATE OF SOUTH
 CAROLINA.

   06/03/97  Senate Introduced, adopted, sent to House SJ-69
   06/03/97  House  Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence HJ-149

TO RECOGNIZE DR. ARTHUR A. FLETCHER FOR A LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

Whereas, Dr. Fletcher served his country valiantly in World War II under the leadership of General George Patton in one of the elite African American tank units; and

Whereas, Dr. Fletcher was a pioneer in the integration in professional sports by being one of the first African Americans to play in the National Football League; and

Whereas, he entered politics by becoming the Vice Chairman of the State of Kansas Republican Party; and

Whereas, Dr. Fletcher acted as the Special Assistant to the Governor of Washington; and

Whereas, he served as the Executive Director of the United Negro College Fund; and

Whereas, Dr. Fletcher served as the Assistant Secretary of Labor to the Nixon administration, during which time he promoted affirmative action laws to enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Acts; and

Whereas, he helped implement the "Revised Philadelphia Plan" that set and enforced equal opportunity employment standards for companies with federal contracts; and

Whereas, under the Ford Administration, Dr. Fletcher worked as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, actively keeping track of critical issues facing the African American community and advising president on manners of dealing with those issues; and

Whereas, Dr. Fletcher was a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights during the Ford, Reagan and Bush administrations and was that organization's chairman from 1990 to 1993, where he tenaciously fought to maintain the civil rights gains made during the previous administrations; and

Whereas, Dr. Fletcher has served in a number of private sector positions during his career, which include acting as the director of the Washington Manpower Development Project in Pasco, Washington, an Employee Relations Specialist at the Hanford Atomic Energy facility in Richmond, Washington, and the president of the Arthur A. Fletcher and Associates, Inc. in Washington, D. C.; and

Whereas, he continues to work for the cause of equal rights and opportunities for all, most recently evidenced by his 1996 bid for the office of the President of the United States. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the General Assembly, by this resolution, hereby publicly recognize and congratulate Dr. Arthur A. Fletcher on the occasion of a lifetime of achievement on behalf of the African American community and the State of South Carolina.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Dr. Fletcher.