Georgia General Assembly · Full text

SR 100: Fort, Honorable Vincent D.; condolences

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Senate Resolution 100

By: Senators Orrock of the 36th, Davenport of the 17th, Jones II of the 22nd, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Jackson of the 41st and others

A RESOLUTION

Honoring the life and memory of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the State of Georgia mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished citizens with the passing of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort on December 22, 2024; and

WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was born on April 28, 1956, in New Britain, Connecticut, a beloved son of Charles Fort Sr. and Clara Hutchinson Fort; and

WHEREAS, after completing his higher education, he settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where he became a respected historian, taught at Morehouse College and Morris Brown College, and served as assistant director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project; and

WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort further served as a Georgia State Senator for the 39th District from 1996 to 2017, representing parts of Atlanta, East Point, College Park, Union City, and unincorporated Fulton County as well as consistently advocating for justice and equity; and

WHEREAS, in 2001, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort authored Georgia's first hate crimes law, ensuring harsher penalties for crimes motivated by bias, followed by the passage of the Georgia Fair Lending Act in 2003, which stood as the strongest anti-predatory lending legislation in the nation at the time and protected consumers from abusive practices; and

WHEREAS, from 2011 to 2017, he served as the Minority Whip of the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus, during which time he championed legislation against discrimination, racial profiling, environmental racism, and labor injustices while supporting fair wages, labor unions, and stronger community protections; and

WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was named "Legislator of the Year" in 2017 by the Georgia Association of Educators for his advocacy of Senate Bill 30, which aimed to improve public education funding and enhance community schools; and

WHEREAS, he was united in love and marriage to his wife, Cheryl, and the two were blessed with three remarkable children, Nyahuma, Clara-Faith, and Zoë, as well as three wonderful grandchildren, Gizelle, Chloe, and Sunday; and

WHEREAS, the Honorable Vincent D. Fort was a powerful voice for economic and racial equality, and his commitment to the people will leave a lasting impact on the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body join in honoring the life and memory of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort and express their deepest and most sincere regret at his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the family of the Honorable Vincent D. Fort.