Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SR 438: Pirzad, Dorothy Roberts; condolences
Last action March 21, 2025 · Senate Read and Adopted
A Georgia Senate resolution honors the life of Dorothy Roberts Pirzad, an Atlanta civil rights activist and community organizer who died on March 6, 2025.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
This resolution is a formal statement from the Georgia Senate marking the death of Dorothy Roberts Pirzad, a longtime activist and community figure in Atlanta. It recounts her life story, including her civil rights work with the National Council of Churches, her role with the underground newspaper The Great Speckled Bird, her counseling work at the Vietnam Veterans Center in Atlanta, and her creative businesses. The resolution does not change any Georgia law. It simply expresses the Senate's condolences and directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to Pirzad's family. This is a common type of legislative action used to publicly recognize a person's life or achievements.
What the bill does
- Formally expresses the Georgia Senate's condolences on the death of Dorothy Roberts Pirzad.
- Recounts her civil rights activism, community organizing, and creative business ventures in an official Senate record.
- Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and send a copy of the resolution to her family.
Who it affects
The resolution directly names the family of Dorothy Roberts Pirzad, including her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and the Secretary of the Senate, who is tasked with distributing a copy of the resolution to them.
Why it matters
While the resolution carries no legal or financial effect, it provides an official, permanent Senate record recognizing Pirzad's decades of civil rights and community work, and gives her family a formal document acknowledging her contributions and passing.
Key provisions
- The resolution's whereas clauses detail Pirzad's biography, birth, activism, and family, providing the factual basis for the honor.
- The resolving clause states the Senate joins in honoring her life and expressing regret at her passing.
- A further resolving clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy available to her family.
From the bill
“the members of this body join in honoring the life and memory of Dorothy Roberts Pirzad and express their deepest and most sincere regret at her passing.”
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Nan Orrock (D, SD-36)
- Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
- Kim Jackson (D, SD-41)
- RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-38)
- Ed Harbison (D, SD-15)
- David Lucas (D, SD-26)
- Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-5)
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
- Sally Harrell (D, SD-40)
- Gail Davenport (D, SD-17)
- Tonya Anderson (D, SD-43)
Topics
- Georgia Senate resolution
- civil rights history
- Atlanta community activism
- condolence resolution