IL HR0165

Declares African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Day at the Illinois Capitol on March 27, 2019 and welcomes AME Church leaders and congregants from the Fourth Episcopal District.

Recognizes the AME Church was founded in 1787 through the Free African Society in Philadelphia by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones in response to racial discrimination.

Notes the AME Church grew to 400,000 members by the Civil War and Reconstruction era, expanding across the Mason-Dixon line and eventually reaching the Pacific Coast by the 1850s.

Acknowledges the modern AME Church operates in 20 Episcopal Districts across 44 countries on five continents, managed by 21 active bishops and nine General Officers.

Identifies Reverend John Franklin White as the 130th Bishop and Presiding Bishop of the Fourth Episcopal District, which oversees AME churches in Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois.