2021 -- S 0929

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LC002851

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING CLIFFORD R. MONTIERO ON BEING HONORED AS THE "HISTORY

MAKER RECIPIENT" BY THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOR A

LIFETIME OF COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION TO SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC

JUSTICE AND EQUALITY

     Introduced By: Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio

     Date Introduced: May 25, 2021

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, Since he was a young man, Clifford Montiero has been working tirelessly to

advance civil rights, and increase access, opportunity and equality for generations of Rhode

Islanders; and

     WHEREAS, At the age of twelve, Mr. Montiero first visited Rhode Island and witnessed

his first “colored only” sign in a restaurant window. He is the son of a Cape Verdean immigrant,

and the first member of his family to graduate from high school and college, earning his degree

from the University of Rhode Island, which he attended on a track scholarship; and

     WHEREAS, Locally and nation-wide, Mr. Montiero has been at the forefront of myriad

major civil rights causes. From marching with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Selma-

to-Montgomery march, to organizing a sleep-in at the Rhode Island State House, to registering

Southern sharecroppers to vote and originating the slogan "Think Big", he has been a champion

for looking beyond the status quo; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Montiero was the first black police officer in the City of Providence,

and is a lifelong member and for more than a decade, President of the Providence chapter of the

NAACP; and

     WHEREAS, In 2019, Mr. Montiero was honored with the National Association of

Secretaries of State (NASS) Medallion Award for championing civic engagement and voter

participation in Rhode Island. In 2018, he was awarded the Rev. Leon Howard Sullivan Award

by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC)

of Rhode Island, and in 2015, he was honored with the Legends and Legacy award for his

lifelong accomplishments and exceptional advocacy on behalf of the Cape Verdean Community

and the community at large; and

     WHEREAS, Clifford Montiero has spent much of his life showing others the importance

of perseverance, compassion, integrity, and fairness and he is eminently worthy of our utmost

admiration and gratitude; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby recognizes Clifford

Montiero on being honored as the "History Maker Recipient" by the Rhode Island Historical

Society and sincerely thanks him for his commitment and dedication to social and economic

justice and equality, and wishes him continued success and good health; 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. Montiero.

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LC002851

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