Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-2017 Thanking and Honoring Dr. S. Bernard Vagner on the occasion of his 100th Birthday SPECIAL PROCLAMATION NO. 12-2017 A SPECIAL PROCLAMATION AWARDED BY DISTRICT 6 SOUTH BEND COUNCIL MEMBER OLIVER DAVIS, SOUTH BEND COUNCIL AT LARGE MEMBER KAREN WHITE AND DISTRICT 2 SOUTH BEND COUNCIL MEMBER REGINA WILLIAMS- PRESTON THANKING AND HONORING DR. S. BERNARD VAGNER ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 100th BIRTHDAY COQ, Dr. S. Bernard Vagner was born on October 28, 1917 and grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana; and 6e,Dr.Vagner left Shreveport to pursue his studies at Xavier University in New Orleans and his medical education at Meharry Medical College, followed by a residency in St. Louis; and 6 ,Dr. Vagner and his wife,Audrey, who he married on June 9, 1943, were unwilling to return to the segregation and discrimination of the South and therefore moved to Toledo, Ohio; and 64 Dr.Vaguer and Audrey were stranded in South Bend during a snow storm on their way from Toledo to Chicago to St Louis on Thanksgiving night 1947 and were forced to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Walgreen's because no other restaurant serving blacks was open; and CA,�,Dr.Vagner's mentor subsequently persuaded him to visit South Bend with the idea of setting up a medical practice; and 6 ,Dr. Vagner visited South Bend in late April or early May 1948 and saw tulips in bloom, ducks on a pond, and black and white children on their way to school laughing and playing together; and Gam, Dr.Vagner and Audrey decided to move to South Bend where Dr.Vagner opened his medical practice in February 1949 and became one of the first African-American physicians practicing in South Bend; and 6 , Dr.Vagner and Audrey had difficulty finding a place to live in South Bend because there were no apartments, furnished or unfurnished,being leased to blacks; and Dr.Vagner and Audrey, with the assistance of Sobieski Bank,were ultimately able to find a home in an integrated neighborhood in 1955 and sent their children to Christ the King School; and 6, ,these experiences fueled a passion to eliminate housing discrimination and led Dr. Vagner and Audrey to become instrumental in helping to pass South Bend's first Fair Housing ordinance in 1968 by publicly testifying on the discriminatory housing practices in St. Joseph County; and Dr.Vagner's work in the civil rights movement and as a role model for African- Americans who aspired to professional careers led to his 2011 election to the Community Hall of Fame. Aamw I. On behalf of the citizens of South Bend, Indiana and the South Bend Common Council we proudly and publicly recognize and thank Dr. Varner for his numerous contributions to the goal of universal Fair Housing through his first 100 years. eaym&II. We also look forward to Dr. Vagner continuing to be a positive role model to African-American youth in our community. III. We wish Dr. Vagner the happiest of birthdays on this occasion of his 1001 birthday © QO/7p�mg Olive is, District 6 nci e e White,At Large Council Member Regi illiams-Preston, District 2 ouncil Member