Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Black History Month by uplifting Chicago's own urban historian, the one, the only Shermann ``Dilla'' Thomas. Dilla reminds us that our past can teach us something important about our present. I agree with Dilla that everything dope about America comes from Chicago. Dilla's Chicago pride is matched maybe by only my own. A lifelong Chicagoan, husband, and father of seven, Dilla gained prominence following the COVID-19 pandemic as he used social media platforms to share the forgotten stories of Chicago's local neighborhoods in just 60 seconds. Since then, he has expanded his unique talent for making history accessible and storytelling captivating through guided tours, history lessons, speaking engagements, and lectures to countless organizations, institutions, and businesses in the Chicago area. My personal favorites are Dilla's videos sharing the stories from Illinois' Third Congressional District in our own neighborhoods, including Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, and Logan Square. By connecting the stories of Chicago's great migration that brought millions of Black southerners to Chicago to the wave of global migration from Ukraine, Central America, and Venezuela we see today, Dilla connects us through storytelling, honoring our shared experiences and our shared humanity. At a time when we seem to be forgetting history, Dilla's powerful voice could not be more pertinent to this moment.…”