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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in 1913 |
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"to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and |
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fair treatment for all citizens," because you cannot fight one type |
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of hatred without fighting all types of hatred; and |
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WHEREAS, ADL has been at the forefront of the struggle to |
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eradicate bias, prejudice, racism, and bigotry in all its forms |
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nationally for 100 years and has maintained offices in Texas for |
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more than 60 years; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1920s, ADL challenged quotas limiting Jews' |
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admission to colleges and universities and fought the exclusion of |
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Jews from certain neighborhoods and professions; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1930s, alarmed that American nativist and |
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fascist groups not only threatened Jews but American democracy, ADL |
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established a research operation aimed at monitoring and exposing |
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extremists, an operation which exists today; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1940s, ADL launched a massive operation to |
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uncover Nazi supporters and hate groups in the United States and |
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worked to expose the Ku Klux Klan as it prepared to increase its |
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racist terror against black Americans; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1950s, ADL strengthened its efforts to help |
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black Americans through the courts, the legislatures, and the |
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media, filing an amicus brief in the Brown v. Board of Education |
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case, and wrote a model anti-mask statute that helped unmask |
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members of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1960s, ADL worked closely with civil rights |
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leaders and government officials to pass laws providing equal |
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rights in voting, employment, and housing for black Americans and |
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helped engender a new era of dialogue and friendship between |
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Catholics and Jews by working closely with the Vatican on Nostra |
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Aetate; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1970s, ADL became an international |
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organization, opening offices in Israel and Europe, fought with |
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other organizations to counteract an Arab boycott of companies that |
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did business with Israel, and began its Audit of Anti-Semitic |
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Incidents; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1980s, ADL created its groundbreaking |
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education campaign, the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute, which has |
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helped nearly 100,000,000 students, 11,000 educators, and nearly |
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8,000 family and community members around the world embrace respect |
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and fight bias and hatred; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1990s, ADL stepped forward to expose the |
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beginnings of online hate and established its No Place for Hate |
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campaign, which has helped forge an atmosphere of respect and |
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appreciation for diversity in over 600 schools in Texas and many |
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more throughout the nation; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 2000s, ADL responded to the terrorist attack |
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of September 11, 2001, by intensifying its training for law |
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enforcement and working to help officers and others understand how |
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terrorists and extremists operate, including the signs, symbols, |
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and ideologies they employ, to prevent additional acts of |
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terrorism; it worked with the family of James Byrd, Jr., in Texas to |
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pass a monumental hate crime law with the James Byrd, Jr., Hate |
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Crimes Act, and a groundbreaking national law with the Matthew |
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Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 2010s, ADL has made significant progress |
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against prejudice and hatred; the need for the Anti-Defamation |
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League still exists and ADL will never give up in the fight to make |
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hatred a thing of the past; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature, hereby honor the Anti-Defamation League, extend to its |
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staff and leaders sincere best wishes in all their endeavors, and |
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join with ADL in its efforts this centennial year to "Imagine a |
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World Without Hate." |