THE LITTLE FAMILY - LOS ANGELES, CA

FILM | www.charleslittle2.com | @charleslittle2

 

 

ABOUT CHARLES LITTLE II, ACE

Charles began his career in Hollywood, cutting his teeth as an independent producer-director-editor crafting music videos and short films before terms like “content” and “brand film” were popularized.  Charles belongs to the industry’s most prestigious and respected organizations including the Motion Picture Editors Guild and American Cinema Editors (A.C.E.); furthering the craft of motion picture editing and promoting diversity and inclusion across the film and television industry.

 

ABOUT THE LITTLE FAMILY

L-I-T-T-L-E (pronounced: “el-eye-tee-tee-eLLLL-eee!”) Is how we sound off our family name. The Little’s are a Chicago family by way of Mississippi after my grandparents Wilson Little and Hazel Carr Little fled the terrorism of Mississippi and the Jim Crow South along with thousands of other Afro-Americans across this country during a time referred to in history as “The Great Migration.” My grandparents were farmers, hunters and steelworkers. They owned a tavern and ultimately bought a three-flat building in a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side called “Roseland”; referred to today as “The Wild Hundreds”. They were God-fearing, hard-working opportunists. They were Hustlers. Today, their children and their children’s children are hard-working entrepreneurs intent on making a way for our family legacy to continue despite the odds.”

 

What does it mean to be part of the Little family?

 

“We have another saying in our family: “Little Means A Lot.”  Some of our men have the decree tattooed on their chests. To be a Little means family first. Whether you are right or wrong, you are always family. Work hard, do the right thing and always tell your family the truth.”

 

Growing up, who in your family influenced you, and what impact did they have on you?

 

“My father, Charles Little, born Nov 5, 1941, and deceased on Sept 5, 2021, is my biggest inspiration. He is also one of the greatest lights to ever shine amongst our clan. My father, Charles, was the firstborn child of Wilson and Hazel’s ten children, who make up my closest set of aunts and uncles; cousins, second cousins, and so on. Charles Little is my biggest inspiration because he gave me a mantra to live by and showed me how to live by that mantra with each step he took along his colorful life journey. “When the going gets tough, the tough gets-to-going.”  He said this to me as often as do I now to my own children.”

 

What is one thing you're incredibly proud of at this very moment?

 

“I am incredibly proud of the Gen-Y and Millennials within our family today; as they will be the first to begin harvesting the seeds of financial wealth amongst our lineage.  Making good on our ancestors’ teachings and their many sacrifices.”

 

What family legacy do you hope to carry on and why?

 

“Our family reunions. Because it is through fellowship that we remember from whence we have come and support one another in where we are going.”

 

Are there any words of wisdom you’d like to give for other Black families who are carrying out generational legacies? 

 

Never forget from whence you come.  Our history, our story, our Legacy is what those who enslaved our ancestors fought so diligently and mercilessly to dismantle, obscure, and erase.  Never let go of yourself  nor one another, for we are all that we will ever have in this world.”