IL HR1457

Bishop Arthur M. Brazier of Chicago passed away on October 22, 2010, and served as Pastor Emeritus of the Apostolic Church of God in the Woodlawn community.

Born in Chicago in 1921, Bishop Brazier was a World War II Army veteran who served overseas in India and Burma, and married Esther Isabelle Holmes on February 21, 1948.

Bishop Brazier was the founding president of The Woodlawn Organization in 1961 and worked with community organizers Saul Alinsky and Nicholas Von Hoffman; he also protested segregated housing and schools alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966.

He served as pastor of the Apostolic Church of God since 1960, held leadership positions with the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation and the Center for Community Change (serving as Vice President until 1986), and sat on the Public Building Commission of Chicago for 20 years.

The Illinois House of Representatives mourns his passing and pledges to send a copy of this resolution to his surviving wife, Esther, his four children, seven grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.