2022 -- H 7107

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF BENJAMIN W. LITTLE,

SR.

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Hull, Alzate, Batista, Ajello, C
Lima, Slater, Edwards, and Costantino

     Date Introduced: January 18, 2022

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with deepest sympathy that this House has learned of the passing of

Benjamin W. Little, Sr., the husband of Juliana Crane, the beloved patriarch of our friend and

colleague, State Representative Anastasia P. Little Williams, Rego Cano, Joshua Little, Benjamin

Little Jr., Jay Alexander Little, and their families, and the Godfather of Quintin Barros Prout and

Asia Darakjian; and

     WHEREAS, Born in the City of Newport, Mr. Little was a son of the late Ferdinand

Douglass Little and Beatrice Delegal Little, and the brother of Doris Little, Paul Cardoza, and the

late Eva Douglass Robinson, George Gray, and John Cardoza. He was a graduate of Rogers High

School, and served our country with honor in both the United States Army and Marine Corps.

Upon returning from the service, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

from Roger Williams University, and a Master's degree in Education Management from

Cambridge College; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Little began his career quest for equal opportunity as the Associate

Director for the Progress Association for Economic Development. In 1973, he was selected to

head the Providence Human Relations Commission (PHRC), and under his leadership, the

Commission greatly advanced opportunities for minorities, and protection for the City’s minority

youths and adult workers from discrimination; and

     WHEREAS, In addition, Mr. Little chaired the City’s Affirmative Action Task Force and

was appointed to the Governor’s Justice Commission of Standards and Goals Project, where he

initiated the introduction of a city ordinance that for the first time, included the issue of

discrimination based on sexual orientation. He was subsequently selected by the United States

Department of Justice’s Community Relations Division to conduct a fact-finding mission in

Washington and Texas on “Deadly Use of Force.” He also founded the New England Association

of Human Rights Directors and sponsored an exhibit in conjunction with the Oakland Museum

entitled “Black Pioneers and Contemporaries in Science and Technology”; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Little next joined the United States Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD) Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) Division where he received

numerous commendations for his work monitoring fair housing and equal opportunity patterns in

southern New England municipalities, and was later selected to head the monitoring and

assessment of the City of Boston; and

     WHEREAS, In 1991, Mr. Little was named Deputy Director for the Town of Greenwich

Housing Authority, and was later promoted to Executive Director and CEO. In June of 2001, the

Greenwich magazine published “Another Side of Greenwich”, an article that followed his career

with the Housing Authority and his mission to instill pride, self-reliance, education, and a sense

of responsibility to their community; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Little had also coordinated with numerous community organizations

and launched Head Start programs in three housing complexes, as well as a panoply of programs

and funding for on-site childcare, educational programs such as “Resident Independence through

Employment” that assisted more than 350 Housing Authority residents to find jobs, and a three-

month educational program on home ownership that culminated in the Housing Authority's

purchase of six condominiums for residents who completed the program and were approved for a

mortgage to buy; and

     WHEREAS, Ben Little's lifetime of achievements was summed up in a statement from

one community program director who had worked with numerous housing authorities and stated

the he knew "of no executive director who has greater initiatives in affording a quality of life and

creating opportunity for public housing residents than Ben Little.” In 2003, Mr. Little retired; and

     WHEREAS, Never one to remain idle, after retiring Mr. Little took classes and began

producing stunning watercolor paintings, and later had his work showcased at an art gallery for a

Veteran’s exhibit and placed third in a Pennsylvania art fair; and

     WHEREAS, There is no doubt that Ben Little, a staunch equal opportunity advocate and

gentleman, helped to better the lives of many people with his life’s endeavors, and he will be

greatly missed; now, therefore be it

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

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expresses deepest sympathies on the passing of Benjamin W. Little, Sr.; and be it further

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

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Juliana Crane, the Honorable Anastasia

Williams, Rego Cano, Joshua Little, Benjamin Little Jr., and Jay Alexander Little.

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