Activist and volunteer discusses her life of service

Nell Stokes has been active at Capital Area Council of Churches for 25 years, including chairing its Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Committee for 18 years. She is also an activist and volunteer.

Background

I was born and raised in Montgomery, Ala. My father, mother, older sister and I lived in a three-room house with a tent roof, no windows and no running water. There was no toilet. We had to use an outhouse. My father worked for the railroad, was injured and was in the hospital for many months. Later, he worked for the stockyard where animals were held for slaughter. My mother cleaned houses for white families. I went to a segregated school but I dropped out after 11th grade because I was bullied there. It was not a great decision but I didn’t know it at that time. I was involved with a young man. We got married.

Q. How did you find yourself in Albany?

A. My husband moved to Albany in 1963 and I followed him a couple of months later with our four boys. We later had two more children.

My kids attended the former St. Ann’s Academy. My husband left us in 1972 and I found myself a single mother. I couldn’t afford to send them to private school, except the older one who went to CBA with help, so they went to public schools. The children did well. I am very proud of them. They are in Germany, Syracuse, Albany, Gloversville and Baltimore. One died March 2021 of cancer.

I realized education was the most important thing for us and would help us to get out of poverty. I took my GED and enrolled in Hudson Valley Community College in 1973. I wanted to provide for my family and not depend entirely on public assistance. I matriculated to The College of Saint Rose. I was six credits short of my degree at Saint Rose and didn’t graduate. Biology had me stumped.

While at Hudson Valley, I was told I needed to get a full-time job. The YWCA on Steuben Street in Albany was hiring. It had a pool, day care, housing for women. I interviewed for the position of youth program director. When I got home, the phone was ringing. The Y offered me the job. It let me go to college and work. The Y gave me the best opportunity to use my skills that I didn’t even know I had. It was perfect for me and let me bring my daughter with me if she didn’t have school. I learned so much and am grateful for the experience.

After that Y closed, I worked at other places and was able to keep my home.

I remarried in 1979. My second husband and I went to the Holy Land on our 20th anniversary. We got baptized in the River Jordan. We renewed our vows in a church in Canaan. It was wonderful. He died in 2000.

I now live in Selkirk. I moved here from Albany 13 years ago.

Q. You have done much in the community.

A. I started volunteering in 1973. I have been active in the community. I do it because I love to help and be a part of the solution. I was active in school and ran a seat on the Albany school board. I have gifts, and gifts are made for giving. I feel an obligation to share what I know. My friend gave me a magnet that says, “Volunteers are not paid not because they are worthless but because they are priceless.” I display it on my refrigerator.

I never think about getting an award but have received several. It is such a blessing to be recognized. In January, I got the Harriet Tubman Titan Award from Israel AME Zion Church in Albany and before that the NAACP Legacy Award. I have worked with NAACP on committees over the years. In Albany, it is a volunteer organization and will celebrate 100 years. The work they do can’t continue without volunteers and monetary donations.

I was excited to be involved with the CACC’s Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Committee. When I was 16, I was in the same room as Reverend King in Montgomery, Ala. It felt like an honor to do something in his name. It was a lot of work. The council awarded me the Evelyn C. Stone Lifetime Achievement Award in fall last year for my work there. Evelyn was chair of the MLK Scholarship/Memorial Service Committee when I joined in 1985. I took over later as chair and she served on the committee throughout my tenure. We also served together on the board of the Capital Area Council of Churches.

I co-founded the Black Women’s Association of Albany and have been a member of the League of Women Voters and the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region.

Q. You initiated the Black History essay contest locally.

A. I started to shine a light on extraordinary folks. I worked for the Albany Y at the time. One of its imperatives was the elimination of racism. In 1980, I created the Black History essay contest for students. The contest continued for more than 15 years and students would read excerpts from winning essays on local television channels during February.

Q. You often wear colorful African outfits to events.

A. I love African attire. They are my modus operandi. I learned my ancestry is from West Africa. When I wear these outfits, I feel I am representing my heritage. They make me feel good and happy and people expect me to wear them at events. Some are made from fabrics from Ghana and Nigeria. An extraordinary seamstress, Jeri Bell in Albany, makes the outfits for me. I have a friend from Liberia who showed me how to drape the head wraps. Every year when we had a MLK service at various community churches and synagogues, I would get Jeri to make me a new outfit.

Q. You have many other interests.

A. I have a YouTube channel I started during the COVID lock-down, “80 and Up,” featuring poetry, music, stories and information. I developed it with the help of my friend and daughter. I upload to it once a month. I like to write and have written for newspapers and magazines. Now I catalog and document my writing. I write poetry and have done public speaking. I call myself a comedian and have done some “sit-down comedy.”

I try to learn new things. My memory is starting to fade. I try to learn about computers. I keep active as much as I can: I bowl twice a week, I take an exercise class in the pool at the Y. I am a member of the Riverview Missionary Baptist Church in Coeymans and attend regularly. I like to be with people. I get energy from them to carry me through the week.