HJR 77 Summary

• Honors the death of Mr. W.L. Strain of Tuskegee, Alabama, who died on September 14, 2011, at age 81, recording his passing with deep sadness and appreciation for his life.

• Recognizes Mr. Strain's extensive career as an educator and civil rights advocate, including his roles at Auburn University as Assistant Director of Cooperative Extension Services and Associate Professor in the Journalism Department, from which he retired in 1995 as Professor Emeritus.

• Acknowledges Mr. Strain's decades of advocacy for Sickle Cell disease treatment and research, serving as president of the Southeast Alabama Sickle Cell Association in the mid-1980s and working with legislators to secure funding for these organizations.

• Credits Mr. Strain with instrumental work in creating the Sickle Cell Oversight and Regulatory Commission, enacted in 1996 by Act 96-727, which received funding of $1,304,771 in 2011.

• House adopted February 16, 2012; Senate adopted February 28, 2012.