On Saturday, Nov. 17, Wallace Community College Selma was packed with family, friends and supporters of Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, to honor him for 35 years of serving District 23.

Sanders will pass the torch to his daughter Malika Sanders-Fortier, who won the Senate seat in the Nov. 6 election.

Sanders is the second of 13 children born to Ola Mae and Sam Sanders from Baldwin County.

He graduated from Douglasville High School, Talladega College and Harvard Law School.

He established Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders, Pettaway and Campbell, LLC in 1971.

Sanders also served as one of the three lead counsel in the $1.2 billion Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation.

Sanders has been part of the building organizations including the Alabama New South Coalition, 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement; Alabama Lawyers Association; Black Belt Human Resources Center; McRae Learning Center; the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute; the Ancient Africa and Enslavement Museum; Coalition of Alabamians Reforming Education; the Selma Collaborative; the Bridge Crossing Jubilee; WBMZ-105.3 FM Radio Station and more.

In 1983, Sanders was elected to the Alabama Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Finance and Taxation Education, which handles the multi-billion-dollar education budget.

Sanders has written a weekly column, which is published in various newspapers, online and in other publications. As of September, Sanders has written his Senate Sketches for 1,631 consecutive weeks or 31 years.

After songs and speeches from family, friends and supporters, Sanders spoke about passing the senatorial torch to his daughter.

“I willingly and anxiously pass the torch of senatorial leadership to you (Fortier),” Sanders said. “We become the torches because the light of leadership emanates from us. Every word we say, every action we perform, every move we make, every thought we think reflects our light of leadership.”

“I plan to engage us collectively in the work of our district,” she said. “Today this torch is not being handed to me, it is being handed to us. Let us make District 23 a paragon of excellence for us and future generations to enjoy and the whole world to behold.”