Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) was the keynote speaker at Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ Black History Month Celebration, which was held in the Illinois State Capitol rotunda. Lightford shared a message of support and honor for organizations and activists that have uplifted the Black community throughout history.

Leader Lightford spoke of the legacies of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Black Panther Party and the Black Lives Matter Movement, all organizations that were established as defense mechanisms against injustices faced by African Americans in this county.

As the Chairman of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, Senator Lightford leads unapologetically in continuing the legacy of the caucus’ founding members set forth in 1967 to ensure equity, prosperity and representation of African-Americans throughout Illinois.

Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) continues to highlight Black activism and liberation organizations this Black History Month.

One of the reasons for the establishment of the Black Panther Party was to defend Black communities from police brutality, something modern day activists continue to fight against.

Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, was from Maywood, Senator Lightford’s home town. He brokered a nonaggression pact between Chicago’s most powerful street gangs to make communities safer.

The Black Panther Party established a free breakfast program and looked after the needs of Black communities at that time.

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois legislators, representatives from the Illinois Department of Public Health and health advocates gathered in the rotunda of the Statehouse today to spread awareness of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, and to encourage Illinois women to learn their risk factors of heart disease and stroke.

Go Red For Women began in 2004 with the mission of educating women on their risk factors of heart disease and empowering them to take control of their heart health. More than one in three women are living with some form of cardiovascular disease; it remains the number one killer of women.

“As women, we know how hard it can be when everything else seems to come before our own welfare. We Go Red For Women to remind all women that the roles we play in our families, our communities and our relationships are too important not to invest in our own well-being,” said Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood).