Mrs. Bernice Young and her daughter Attorney Tamara Young Lee present Congresswoman-elect Terri Sewell (center) with a Certificate of Appreciation at recent Women’s Day Program at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

By John Zippert, Co-Publisher

Congresswoman-elect Terri Sewell of the Alabama Seventh Congressional District was the guest speaker for Sunday’s Women’s Day Program at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Eutaw, Alabama.
Sewell was elected as the first African-American woman to Congress from Alabama on November 2nd, taking the seat previously held by Artur Davis. Greene County and most of the Alabama Black Belt region is included in her district.
Sewell was introduced by Tamara K. Young Lee of Tuskegee whose mother, Bernice H. Young, was leading the program.
Sewell, who is a native of Selma, now resides in Birmingham where she was a lawyer specializing in economic development and bond financing for governments and utilities. Sewell was the first Black valedictorian at Selma High School and went on to get her undergraduate degree from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard University.
Sewell mixed religious passages, anecdotes from her life and advice to young people in her spiritual and inspirational message to the full church. She urged the audience to have purpose and vision in their lives and to derive that purpose from a belief in God and faith in yourself and your family, community, education and vision.
Sewell urged young people to ”move out of your comfort zone” and experience new challenges. She said that when she went to Princeton, she was a little apprehensive about her ability to succeed there but she relied on her faith, family and community support to give her strength to do well there.
She said, “Do not let others define you and be proud of where you come from and the journey you have taken. I am proud of being from Selma and it is a distinction that others now recognize.”
Sewell recounted the story of meeting another student, Pierre Dupont, from the chemical company, who introduced himself as “Pierre Dupont, from the Duponts of Delaware!” She responded, “Well I am Terri Sewell of the Sewell’s from Selma”. Sewell said one of the first campaign contributions she received in her Congressional race was from her college classmate – Pierre Dupont.
Sewell said, “She was honored and thrilled to represent the district in Congress but she needed the help of people who live in the area to help move the district forward. She asked people to assist her by giving their thoughts and opinions on the many important issues before Congress in the coming session.”
In her concluding comments, Sewell said, “Those of us who are blessed – must be a blessing to others. We must lift as we climb, which is what I hope to do in my service in Congress.”
Pastor Joseph Mason of St. Paul’s UMC in brief remarks after Sewell said he was pleased to hear her comments and that “ she has a spiritual foundation to her life”.
The program also gave scholarships to two students from the church attending post-secondary education and recognition to women who were political officials in Greene County.