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SPECIAL PROCLAMATION NO. 12-2017 <br /> A SPECIAL PROCLAMATION AWARDED BY DISTRICT 6 SOUTH BEND COUNCIL <br /> MEMBER OLIVER DAVIS, SOUTH BEND COUNCIL AT LARGE MEMBER KAREN <br /> WHITE AND DISTRICT 2 SOUTH BEND COUNCIL MEMBER REGINA WILLIAMS- <br /> PRESTON THANKING AND HONORING DR. S. BERNARD VAGNER ON THE <br /> OCCASION OF HIS 100th BIRTHDAY <br /> COQ, Dr. S. Bernard Vagner was born on October 28, 1917 and grew up in Shreveport, <br /> Louisiana; and <br /> 6e,Dr.Vagner left Shreveport to pursue his studies at Xavier University in New Orleans and <br /> his medical education at Meharry Medical College, followed by a residency in St. Louis; and <br /> 6 ,Dr. Vagner and his wife,Audrey, who he married on June 9, 1943, were unwilling to <br /> return to the segregation and discrimination of the South and therefore moved to Toledo, Ohio; and <br /> 64 Dr.Vaguer and Audrey were stranded in South Bend during a snow storm on their way <br /> from Toledo to Chicago to St Louis on Thanksgiving night 1947 and were forced to eat Thanksgiving <br /> dinner at Walgreen's because no other restaurant serving blacks was open; and <br /> CA,�,Dr.Vagner's mentor subsequently persuaded him to visit South Bend with the idea of <br /> setting up a medical practice; and <br /> 6 ,Dr. Vagner visited South Bend in late April or early May 1948 and saw tulips in bloom, <br /> ducks on a pond, and black and white children on their way to school laughing and playing together; and <br /> Gam, Dr.Vagner and Audrey decided to move to South Bend where Dr.Vagner opened his <br /> medical practice in February 1949 and became one of the first African-American physicians practicing in <br /> South Bend; and <br /> 6 , Dr.Vagner and Audrey had difficulty finding a place to live in South Bend because there <br /> were no apartments, furnished or unfurnished,being leased to blacks; and <br /> Dr.Vagner and Audrey, with the assistance of Sobieski Bank,were ultimately able to <br /> find a home in an integrated neighborhood in 1955 and sent their children to Christ the King School; and <br /> 6, ,these experiences fueled a passion to eliminate housing discrimination and led Dr. <br /> Vagner and Audrey to become instrumental in helping to pass South Bend's first Fair Housing ordinance <br /> in 1968 by publicly testifying on the discriminatory housing practices in St. Joseph County; and <br /> Dr.Vagner's work in the civil rights movement and as a role model for African- <br /> Americans who aspired to professional careers led to his 2011 election to the Community Hall of Fame. <br /> Aamw I. On behalf of the citizens of South Bend, Indiana and the South Bend Common <br /> Council we proudly and publicly recognize and thank Dr. Varner for his numerous contributions to the <br /> goal of universal Fair Housing through his first 100 years. <br /> eaym&II. We also look forward to Dr. Vagner continuing to be a positive role model to <br /> African-American youth in our community. <br /> III. We wish Dr. Vagner the happiest of birthdays on this occasion of his 1001 birthday <br /> © QO/7p�mg <br /> Olive is, District 6 nci e <br /> e White,At Large Council Member <br /> Regi illiams-Preston, District 2 ouncil Member <br />