Nello Zanders knew education was the path off a life on a plantation
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the first and 16th presidents of the United States, agreed on a very important aspect of their lives and careers. Both men openly credited their mothers for moulding the characteristics of their individual talents and abilities. Lincoln said everything he had become was because of his mother.Sunday, May 8th is Mother's Day.
The President and CEO of Ujamaa Place Otis Zanders shared a few minutes to talk about his mother "Nello" Zanders.
The Zanders family, four boys and a girl, lost their father when Otis was two years of age. They lived in Mississippi on a plantation as sharecroppers. His mother was the first generation out of slavery.
"My mother was my role model, me hero, my constant voice of encouragement, she empowered me, she knew without question a lack of education was a giant barrier. She recognized education was the pathway and she never allowed us to stray away from the goal of academic achievement.
"She pushed us very hard in high school and college was not an option. I had to go. "She was an excellent cook, and I miss her pinto beans, sweet potatoes and greens. "She was a voice for racial justice in our town, a community organizer, she spoke out and had meetings in our home. She wasn't shy about speaking out. "She wanted me to come home after college and run for the office of mayor. "Nello died in 1996.
"I wouldn't be what I am today without my mother," Otis explains.
He says Happy Mothers Day to all mothers.
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