Harlem Globetrotter Legend James “Twiggy” Sanders speaks in the Civic Center at VGCC’s Main Campus. (VGCC photo)
A Harlem Globetrotter “Legend” visited two campuses of Vance-Granville Community College on Jan. 20, and he brought with him a message: education is the only surefire path to success.
Raleigh native James “Twiggy” Sanders, who played with the Globetrotters from 1974 until 1991, spoke first at VGCC’s Franklin County Campus near Louisburg and later in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. His presentations were sponsored by the college’s Male Mentoring Program and were open to the entire community.
Sanders has a personal connection to the program, in the person of VGCC Academic and Career Coach Anthony Pope, who serves as co-coordinator for Male Mentoring at the college. Sanders and Pope were next-door neighbors in Raleigh when they were young. “Twiggy Sanders had a profound influence on my life,” Pope said. “He inspired me to go to college.”
Speaking one day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Sanders reflected on his own childhood and the changes brought about by the civil rights movement. “To me, education is the key to fulfilling Dr. King’s dream,” Sanders said. “The dream is prosperity for our families and our communities. We’ve got to keep that dream alive. He recalled that his father wanted him to go to college. “He knew that education was the only way to succeed,” Sanders said. “It is the great equalizer.”
Sanders said that having a college degree from Johnson C. Smith University in his “back pocket” helped him throughout his career. “Education is a ‘must’ today,” Sanders told the audience. “We constantly have to upgrade ourselves and our resumes, so thank God for places like VGCC. You have to keep going to school.” Addressing students, Sanders said, “Whatever program of study you are in, go for it, because it will inspire others. Get a good-paying job or go on to a four-year college. Do it for yourself, your family and your community.” Success, he said, is “contagious.” He also counseled students to dismiss the “naysayers” who tell them that they cannot succeed. “Don’t listen to them,” the basketball great said. “Believe in yourself, and make education your best friend.” He imparted to his audience a favorite maxim: “Fortune favors the prepared mind.”
Sanders entertained the crowd with stories of going from a small college to a successful career as a Globetrotter, in which he traveled more than 75,000 miles to over 100 countries on six continents. “It’s not about where you start, it’s about where you finish,” Sanders said. Following his Globetrotter career, Sanders continued to be involved in the game he loved, but this time as a coach. Now retired and living in Knightdale, he continues to give back by coaching at the middle school that he once attended.
Supported by a grant from the N.C. Community College System, the male mentoring initiative at VGCC supports the educational and professional aspirations of male students through an active, intensive, and engaging process of academic coaching and case management. The goals of the program are to keep participating students in school, to increase their graduation rate and to increase their rate of transferring to four-year colleges and universities. For more information, contact Anthony Pope at (252) 738-3395.