A Sacramento minister who met Nelson Mandela says the late South African president's death is devastating.
"To know that Africa's favorite son is no longer here is very saddening."
Reverend Kevin Kitrell Ross is with "Unity of Sacramento," a church in the College Greens area of Sacramento. Ross met Mandela in 1999.
On Capital Public Radio's Insight with Beth Ruyak today, Ross said the meeting was backstage at a conference in South Africa called "Parliament of the World's Religions."
Ross was among several people waiting to meet Mandela.
"And then he finally got to me and time stood still. And I had an opportunity to be with him long enough to really look into his eyes. And his eyes were not dimmed. You couldn't feel any bitterness or hatred or any of that."
Ross says Mandela's legacy connects with the work he does as a minister.
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