A house RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR Merrill Chapman, Director of Brady South Carolina, UPON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT AFTER TEN YEARS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE, AND TO WISH HER CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HER FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives has learned that Merrill Chapman will begin a well-deserved retirement after ten years as the director of Brady South Carolina; and

Whereas, a Charleston native, Ms. Chapman started her career as a radio DJ and found her voice as a community activist. She has served as co-chair of Our Revolution South Carolina, vice president of the ACLU of Charleston, and president of the Charleston chapter of the South Carolina Progressive Network; and

Whereas, she founded Thinking People, a peace and social justice organization that sent busloads of marchers to Washington, D. C., to protest the war in Afghanistan. She served as the president of the South Carolina Working Families Party, emceed the Women's March in Charleston, and has participated in Black Lives Matter, the Anita Hill Celebration, and the National Writers Union; and

Whereas, as a child, Ms. Chapman learned that her cousin had unintentionally shot another cousin while hunting and later that a close family friend had died by firearm suicide; and

Whereas, she joined the gun-violence-prevention movement when the South Carolina Legislature considered a bill to allow concealed carry of weapons in bars. Once it was enacted, she joined a group that assisted bar owners who chose to opt-out of the measure; and

Whereas, after the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Ms. Chapman joined Brady South Carolina to give expression to her heightened fervor for ending gun violence; and

Whereas, subsequent to the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Ms. Chapman organized a group of Brady volunteers to travel to Florida for a rally which was attended by the Reverend Dr. Betty Deas Clark of Mother Emanuel; and

Whereas, another significant moment was a series of Conversations with Candidates sponsored by Brady in 2020. Most of the Democratic presidential candidates attended a public forum and spoke with State Representative J. A. Moore, who had lost his sister in the Mother Emanuel tragedy; and

Whereas, working her way up from a member of Brady's grassroots to director, Ms. Chapman focused on leadership with public speaking about gun violence as her main work, including speaking at the South Carolina Statehouse many times and on panels with state law enforcement and the attorney general. Under her leadership, South Carolina Brady has held a large number of vigils and rallies and contributed to panel discussions and lobbying legislators; and

Whereas, she has won numerous awards for her activism, including the Frederick Douglass Thunder and Lightning Award from the South Carolina Progressive Network. The Charleston City Paper named her Best Activist, and most recently she was awarded the Triumph Award from the South Carolina National Action Network; and

Whereas, grateful for her many contributions to the gun-violence-prevention movement, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in extending best wishes to Merrill Chapman as she transitions to a richly deserved retirement and the leisurely pace of the days ahead, and the members wish her many years of enjoyment in her well-earned retirement. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Merrill Chapman, Director of Brady South Carolina, upon the occasion of her retirement after ten years of outstanding service, and wish her continued success and happiness in all her future endeavors.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Merrill Chapman.

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