I am Ellen Miller-Mapp and I want to tell you why I honor my Beautiful, Loving Mother, Florence McNeil. Mom, a.k.a. “Mother Florence”, has always been the best example of the Woman I always hoped to be! At 98, Mom still provides me with inspiration. Born in 1922 in Cincinnati, sharing new life with her twin brother Phillip, they were the middle children in a family of 9 children. There were actually 3 sets of twins an 3 single children born of the same parents. Our Grandfather, a proud and hardworking businessman and our Grandmother, Big Mamma, reared the nine children. Big Mamma ran a “tight ship” and everyone stayed in line! Mom gained her strength as an independent woman coming of age and went to work early in her teens. Here work ethic grew out of the strong discipline from the home life. Over the years, she learned the importance of hard work and saving. An avid reader, she learned all that she could, yet she had to navigate the woes of the Jim Crow Era in Cincinnati. She and one of her sisters Olivia worked together and supported each other. Mom did not marry until her late 20’s unusual for those days as she was a “Working Woman”. Then came 4 children, 3 sons and 1 daughter. Our oldest brother came with the marriage, and my Mom welcomed him as her own through adoption. He was 9 years old. Then she bore my brother Greg, Me (Ellen) and my brother Artie. The marriage did not last and Mom carried on the role of parenting while working. By the time I reached Junior High school, Mom earned her certificate to be a Paraprofessional in Elementary Education. She instilled in us the importance of higher education. There was never any doubt we would all attend and graduate from college. Raising children during the racially volatile era of the 50’s and 60’s in Cincinnati proved to be challenging while at the same time my mother became politically active as she firmly believed in the core values of equal justice, the right to vote, anti-segregation, and racial inclusion. Mom supported Dr. Martin Luther King.. She supported ant-segregation efforts of public swimming pools as led by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth in a peaceful protest. She helped organize voter registration in our neighborhood. She actually helped hide young black boys from the National Guard who were patrolling our street during the 1968 riots because they could not get home safely before curfew. She sent for their parents to come get them and fed them supper until their parents arrived. When I was in the 9th grade, she allowed me to join SNCC and then in 1968 she supported my participation in a peaceful sit-in at my high school. She said, “just don’t get arrested!” Watching my mother unafraid to speak out on matters of fairness and equality resonated with me then and still today. I am still guided by the simple principles of Equal Justice under the Law, Voting Rights, and Racial Inclusion! I thank my Strong Mom, for her example which gives me the courage to speak out for matters of fairness especially on behalf of those who are not able to speak for themselves. Thanks Mom for your Gifts!