Nannie B. Dickerson came to Yonkers in 1943 and became a longtime resident.  Ms. Dickerson attended Yonkers Public Schools; she graduated from Commerce H.S. and then furthered her education at Westchester Community College.  Thereafter, she worked for The City of Yonkers for 31 years and dedicated 20 years to Yonkers Human Rights.  She also worked for 11 years at Y.C.A.P.   Because she was a dedicated person and hard-worker, it earned her the award of 'Mother of the Community'; this was because she spent her free time with the kids in the community and volunteering for the football team- The Westchester Invaders.

Ms. Dickerson was known as 'The People's Advocate'.  She was quiet behind the scenes, but was very visible in the forefront when duty called.  She was involved in many areas of civic and community life.  She was a Senior Employment Counselor at Y.C.A.P., she formed the "Concerned Citizens for Descent Housing' and she served as the Chair Lady of the National Welfare Rights Organization and Community Planning Council (Yonkers Branch).

Ms. Dickerson had chaired and served on numerous advisory boards/committees such as the: Police Community Relations Board, Police Community Patrol Unit, Planned Parenthood of Westchester County, Mobilization Against Drugs, Black Coalition & The Black United Front.  She was also the Treasurer for the Afo-American Civic Association and was the Chair Lady of the Afro-American Heritage Committee.

Ms. Dickerson received numerous awards and citations for her mentoring service to the community, those awards included:  The Community Award from The Westchester Day Care Council, Community Service Award from The Afro-American Heritage Committee, Certificate of Appreciation from the Westchester County Dept. of Social Service, Community Service Award from the Yonkers Community Action Program and the NYS Senator Achievement Award.

Throughout her life, Ms. Dickerson lived Christian principles, responsibilities and commitment in the areas of human concern.​  She received the Annual Civic Award from Christ Theological Seminary (1982), the Dean J.I. Clark for Excellence in Evangelism (1999) and the Pro Operis Award for more than 20 years of distinguished service to the Seminary in the religious and academic fields.