Hussein Samatar honored as "Living Legend"
Is there a living legend among us? This past summer, ADC staff attended the Urban Financial Services Coalition’s “Salute to Minneapolis Living Legends!” at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. This year’s honorees were Sharon Sayles Belton, former Mayor of Minneapolis; David Anderson, founder of Famous Dave’s of America, the legendary BBQ franchise; Ange Hwang, founder and executive director of Asian Media Access; Esperanza Guerrero, a management consultant; and ADC’s own executive director, Hussein Samatar.
When Hussein accepted his Living Legend award, he greeted the audience in four languages: Arabic, Somali, Spanish, and English. He spoke of the struggles he endured and ambition he maintained to leave his Wells Fargo small business lender position and start the African Development Center. He told of the necessity of having an organization that caters to the growing African immigrant communities of Minnesota and provides cultural-sensitive services. And he expressed the hope that “one day ADC could be out of business” because the African immigrant communities of Minnesota had become financially self-sufficient.
Hussein ended with a quote from President Nelson Mandela written by Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world.”
