* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL
Introduced by: Councilmember Cole
At the request of: The Family and Friends of Alvin Kirby Brunson, c/o Aletha B.Brunson
Address: 200 West Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220
Telephone: 804-646-7341
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL concerning
Title
November 14, 2008 - Alvin Kirby Brunson Day in Baltimore City
FOR the purpose of declaring November 14, 2008, Alvin Kirby Brunson Day in Baltimore City on the occasion of the 50th celebration of the date of birth of a remarkable man who dedicated his life to the furtherance and amplification of Baltimore's unique cultural history and the preservation of the legacy of those notable citizens that loved, lived, played, and worked along the historic Pennsylvania Avenue corridor; and providing for a special effective date.
Body
Recitals
Alvin Kirby Brunson, who was born on November 14, 1958, as one of 6 loving children of Abraham and Ernestine Brunson, died on March 30, 2008, a native son of Baltimore City who worked to share his gift of a unique perspective of Baltimore City's African American history and culture, by expanding his Center for Cultural Education into a cultural museum.
Mr.Brunson, a historian who served as an expert on Pennsylvania Avenue for several newspapers, authored several books on the area, and taught as college instructor a course entitled "Exploring Baltimore's Black History and Culture", founded the Center for Cultural Education that operated an African American traveling museum highlighting Baltimore's black history and culture and provided bus tours of historical black Baltimore.
In addition to the bus tours, Alvin took hundreds of people on his Thurgood Marshall-Billie Holiday walking heritage tours of the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor, during which he would stop at famous attractions such as the childhood home of Thurgood Marshall and the former site of the Royal Theatre, one of the only places where African American performers of color, like Billie Holiday and Cab Calloway, could perform in Baltimore during the Jim Crow era.
Local schools, libraries, churches, civic organizations, and any other venue for learning were the fortunate recipients of Mr. Brunson's enthusiastic message that Pennsylvania Avenue's rich heritage should be preserved, revered, and shared with each succeeding generation. Born a child of loving parents, Alvin Kirby Brunson became a son of Baltimore City. Taken far too early at the young age of 49, he will be memorialized by the pride he engendered in today's children and the honor he bestowed on black Baltimore's past.
SECTION 1. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That November 14, 2008, is hereby declared Alvin Kirby Brunson Day in Baltimore City on the occasion of the 50th celebration of the day of birth of a remarkable man who dedicated his life to the furtherance and amplification of Baltimore's unique cultural history and the preservation of the legacy of those notable citizens that loved, lived, played, and worked along the historic Pennsylvania Avenue corridor.
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be presented to Ms. Aletha B. Brunson on behalf of Alvin Kirby Brunson's loving family, friends, and colleagues.
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this Resolution takes effect on the date it is enacted.
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