By Senator Hank Sanders
We were supposed to receive an award that night. By “we,” I mean Faya Rose Toure and Hank Sanders. By “that night,” I mean Saturday night, October 6, 2018. Instead, we were forsaking the National Award Presentation on Saturday night at the National Conference of Black Lawyers Banquet in Detroit, Michigan. We left very early on a plane from Detroit to Atlanta and drove to Auburn, Alabama to help lift a longtime community servant. It was Barbara Pitts Day.
The person being lifted was Barbara Pitts. It was her 70th birthday. More importantly, it was Barbara Pitts Day. I had just two minutes to share concerning Barbara Pitts’ work with the Alabama New South Coalition. I want to share with you what I said or tried to say or wanted to say. However, I am not limiting myself to what I said or tried to say or wanted to say in those two minutes. There were various others who also shared in two minutes segments concerning Barbara Pitts’ many contributions in the community. This was Barbara Pitts Day.
In the 32 years since its founding, Barbara Pitts has held more positions in Alabama New South Coalition than any other person. She has been Chapter President. She has been District President. She has been Second State Vice President. She has been First State Vice President. She has been State President. She has been State Recording Secretary. She has been State Corresponding Secretary. She has been State Treasurer. She has been Board Chair, Board Co-Chair and Board Vice Chair. She continues to serve as an officer at this very moment. Barbara Pitts has held virtually every position in Alabama New South Coalition. This was Barbara Pitts Day.
Barbara Pitts did not just hold positions in Alabama New South Coalition; she also was and is was a worker, a warrior, a servant. She is the embodiment of Alabama New South work. She constantly works in voter education, voter registration, voter mobilization, voter participation, etc. She works with youth leaders in the Twenty-First Century Youth Leadership Movement, Delta Sigma Theta (Delteens), SCLC, NAACP, her church and more. She works to lift the whole community whatever the age, whatever the need. This was Barbara Pitts Day.
Barbara Pitts embodies the Alabama New South Coalition spirit of Making a Change for the Better in Our Lifetime. She is always making a change for the better in our children, our religious institutions, our organizations, our communities, our government. She manifests the New South spirit in all she does. This was Barbara Pitts Day.
Barbara Pitts did not start making a difference for the better in our lifetime when she came to Alabama New South Coalition and Twenty-First Century Youth Leadership Movement. She started as a child making a difference for the better in the lives of those around her. As a youth, she worked with SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) to challenge voting rights obstacles in Auburn/Lee County. She was arrested, but each time she kept on fighting for the right to vote. She also led youth in demonstrating for public accommodations in segregated facilities. She was arrested but kept on making a difference for the better. She had a passion for justice as a youth. She never lost that passion. Barbara Pitts was always making a difference for the better in our lifetime. She continues to this day. This was Barbara Pitts Day.
There is so much more Barbara Pitts has done and is doing. In my two minutes, I was unable even to begin to say what she has done and is doing just with Alabama New South Coalition. I certainly cannot do justice to such a rich life of service of Barbara Pitts in this short Sketches. Perhaps you can understand why Faya Rose and I would leave an event where we were scheduled to receive a national award and make our way to Auburn, Alabama. It was the Barbara Pitts Day.