It is with deep sadness that I write! Words cannot express my sincere gratitude for Professor Mack. I know that you mentioned starting a memory book for his daughter Amirah so I wanted to leave a few words.... First and foremost today I celebrate the life of Professor Mark E. Mack. As a native of Washington, DC and Anthropology major I first encountered Professor Mack during my first year at Howard University as an undergraduate Anthropology major in 2008. The very first question he posed to my class was "What race do you think I am?" The class spent about three minutes trying to guess Professor Mack's race. The answers ranging from mixed breeds of everything. My answer, the only one of its kind "The Human Race." At that point Professor Mack said "Anita is the only one who got it correct, race does not exist, I am the human race." After that he went on to tell us his biological ancestral breakdown of not only himself but of his wife. He concluded by showing us that all humans have a lot of mixed ancestry and the need to classify race is irrelevant because race served as a social construct. Professor Mack taught me countless life lessons. He taught me that it was okay to be knowledgeable in the past without apology. He taught me to really grasp a deeper meaning and appreciation for Anthropology. Professor Mack had a kind and loving heart, only wanting the best for all of his students. He even met my daughter Lyric who was four at the time. She set in on a few of our Biology and Culture classes. He was so excited to meet her. He even gave her some books and insisted that she called him Uncle Mark. To this day Lyric who is now six loves skeletons and prehistoric man and Uncle Mark. The love for his family was unwavering. We spent hours talking about his childhood, biracial parents, and younger years. He would pass around pictures of him as a little boy and compare them to his adult pictures. When he told the class that his wife was pregnant I swear he seemed happier than ever before. He would even make comments in class that he was becoming soft by lightening our course load. After graduating from Howard in the spring of 2011 I left Howard with a since of who I was as a person. I had learned how to contextualize historical context and break down issues into real world problems. I was no longer afraid of knowledge. Professor Mack made me want to do more, be more, and educate myself and my community more. Immediately after graduation I interned with The Congressional Black Caucus, and most recently The White House. All thanks to educators like Professor Mack I have met countless influential policy makers. Professor Mack definitely made me want to be more than the girl from DC with a daughter. He made me want to be the best, to have the most knowledge, and to be diligent. His lessons will live on with me forever. He is a guiding light to the hearts and minds of all the students who have ever encountered him and for that I wish to send with a heavy heart and mind a humbled thank you. Professor Mack's time was well spent on me I am going to law school next fall because the best is yet to come for me.