SMYRNA — On Sunday, June 20, during Mount Friendship AME Church’s 11 a.m. service, John L. Williams, known as "JL" to many, will preach. The former professional basketball player, who played in South America, has traveled internationally, inspiring people to succeed against the odds.

Born to a teenage mother and a father whom he didn’t meet until age 37, at age 12 — an influential and vulnerable time of JL’s development — JL was identified by the educational system as having "special needs." He was placed in a special-education classroom where he suffered the label and humiliation of attending special-education class. "I was talked down to. I was deeply hurt by the system that should have taught me self-empowerment. They didn’t understand how to interact with children like me. I had to overcome the labels of the educational system, the abandonment of my father and the voice of peers who were trying to pull me down the wrong path."

Fortunately, JL found a safe haven in Eleanor Bratton, who he calls "Aunt Mommy." "She was the most impactful person in my life," JL said. "She taught me a lot about spirituality. Through her example and conversations about overcoming obstacles, she taught me how to connect with God and find a place of refuge when I felt unworthy, confused and abandoned."

As a direct result of JL’s experience he established Save the Seed Inc., a non-profit youth personal-development and motivational program. He provides a safe and positive atmosphere for young people to find alternatives to everyday problems such as peer pressure, educational challenges, labels and abandonment.

JL and his wife, Whitney, have two beautiful daughters and live in New Castle. Charles Madden, executive director of the Hope Commission; Dr. Jack Milligan, a specialist in internal medicine; and Dr. Paul Bryant, vice president for Student Affairs at Delaware State University, also will participate in the service.