2019 -- H 6130

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LC002599

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER CLIFFORD R. MONTEIRO

     Introduced By: Representatives Ucci, Hull, Williams, Fellela, and Lombardi

     Date Introduced: May 21, 2019

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Clifford Monteiro was born in the City of Providence, attended the

University of Rhode Island, and also took classes at Roger Williams College; and

     WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Monteiro has held numerous titles including

serving as a Providence police officer, but his foremost accomplishments have always been and

continue to be as a civil-rights activist; and

     WHEREAS, Since the age of 13, when Mr. Monteiro heard Dr. Martin Luther King's "I

Have a Dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington, he has devoted his amazing energy and

talents to establishing, promoting, and guaranteeing fair treatment and equal opportunities for

those who have been encumbered in the social and economic disadvantages of racism and

prejudice; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Monteiro marched in Selma, Alabama, with the Rev. Martin Luther

King, Jr., helped feed Southern sharecroppers kicked off farms for registering to vote, became a

leader in the Rhode Island chapter of the old Congress of Racial Equality, and led the Providence

branch of the NAACP for 10 years. He was one of the four founding fathers of the Opportunities

Industrialization Center (OIC) of Rhode Island, that helps the minority community to find and

keep meaningful jobs, and led to the establishment of the R.I. Black Heritage Society, which

arose from the OIC's efforts; and

     WHEREAS, Earning a plethora of awards and honors, Mr. Monteiro received the Rev.

Leon H. Sullivan Award, which is named after the founder of the national Opportunities

Industrialization movement, and was the first recipient of the first award given at the first Black

History Month Commemoration Breakfast. He is also the recipient of an honorary degree from

Roger Williams University on May 18, 2019; and

     WHEREAS, From staging sleep-ins, marches and rallies to pushing for diversity in the

state judiciary and law enforcement agencies to working alongside Dr. Martin Luther King,

Clifford Monteiro has spent most of his inspiring lifetime providing hope and opportunity for

people of color; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby honors and thanks civil rights leader Clifford R. Monteiro and

wishes him good health and success in all his noble endeavors; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Clifford R. Monteiro.

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