AFSCME’s ‘Phenomenal Father’

CHICAGO

Osayande Watson, a supervisor at the Cook County Sheriff’s Department and president of AFSCME Local 3692 (Council 31), is a “phenomenal father.” For proof, just open the June 2000 issue of Ebony magazine.

In the article, Watson describes his love for children. He and his wife, Nanyamka Akilah, have been foster parents to more than 11 of them, including two sets of twins. They have adopted two boys, and were in the process of adopting a third, a 7-year-old who suffers from mild cerebral palsy. Through a surrogate parent program, Watson also has kept an eye on the schooling of six others.

He told Ebony, “Children often just need someone to listen to them. I’ve been working in corrections for 25 years. I see the end result, and I know there’s another way.”