Nelson Mandela released from prison February 11, 1990I am always completely speechless when I see the visionary and powerful Nelson Mandela on television. I am always reminded what the word sacrifice truly means when I see him. He is to me, of the same ilk as Mother Teresa, Gandhi and all the visionaries we have been blessed to have had in our lives at different times. He is the closest thing to a saint in our lives. I was equally amazed at the fact that Mandela was on the U.S. terror list as recent as this week. This man was no more of a threat to the U.S. than a little child. We are in the presence of greatness and a man that has shown unselfish love and devotion to his people and ending the scourge of apartheid in his country. Nelson Mandela’s fame eclipses that of presidents, but the hero of the South African apartheid struggle also has a moral authority unmatched by any religious or political leader. Mandela can arrive in the chambers of any head of state with the absolute certainty he will be the most famous person in that room and the most RESPECTED. He is, by far, one of the rarest and most precious person we have ever had in our midst.
Nelson Mandela in his cell at Robben IslandMandela, who turns 90 on July 18, is eternally cloaked in a cloud of adulation which refuses to evaporate. He has made remarkable achievements through his life and he is one of the first political figures to truly understand the power of celebrity–a tool he turned into a weapon in the fight against apartheid. He succeeded in reaching a global audience with his vision of a post-apartheid South Africa before his 27-year imprisonment commenced. He transformed his trial into a stark demonstration of an oppressive state seeking to stifle a dream of justice – not just a confrontation between prosecutors and the leader of a sabotage campaign. Mandela famously declared at this time: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination…It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” South Africa’s white elite failed to label him as a communist terrorist and the propaganda victories of the ANC led to sanctions which threatened to cripple the state.
Mandela, not only helped break down the walls of apartheid, but he spearheaded one of the greatest transformations of the past 100 years–the emergence of scores of nation states which were once European colonies. Mandela has played down his brilliance as a tactician with charming modesty, saying: “I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances. Mandela is an “intellectual giant” who proved that a systematic process of “truth and reconciliation” can bring healing to a shattered country.
Mandela is seen as a global grandfather, devoted to fighting Aids and poverty across his home continent. No leader of a liberation movement has enjoyed such a happy ending. He was imprisoned for 27 years and I don’t think that God would have taken him away from us so quickly after his r
elease from prison. He had more work for him to do.
In recent times critics of Mandela wish he had done more to stop Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe slipping into outright tyranny. But it is not true that in his retirement he has avoided political controversy. He was alarmed by the US’s rush to war in Iraq, saying: “It is clearly a decision that is motivated by George W. Bush’s desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United States of America.” A sentiment many people here in the U.S. share fervently. It is a testament to the strength of his legacy that he is criticized for moments of inaction, rather than any decision taken in a moment of fear or fury.
So, naturally I was very surprised to learn a few months ago that Mandela was still on the U.S. terror list and I was angered by that discovery. On Friday, lawmakers quietly erased references to him as a terrorist from national databases. The legislation was unanimously passed in both the House and the Senate. I could not believe that Mandela was faced with travel restrictions to the United States because he fought to free his people from apartheid. It is ironic that America prides itself on racial inclusion and sensitivity, though it has had its own apartheid and its government has been guilty of some of the very same activities that occurred in South Africa towards blacks and American Indians. It is ironic that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and so many other civil rights leaders were subjected to similar treatment as the leaders in apartheid South Africa and this government had to nerve to have this man on a terror list.
Nelson Mandela, when he leaves the public stage for the last time, will indeed remain an icon of hope and freedom for the whole world. This was my tribute to a man who continues to evoke such feelings of awe, profound gratitude and deep respect through every fiber of my being. This is who, though I am sure he has faults as we all do, we should strive to emulate, though we can never duplicate. I wish Zimbabwe’s despot Robert Mugabe and cronies would take a page from Mandela’s book and do the right thing instead of stealing an election in plain view. Just my thoughts, you be the judge…..
Filed under: Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, President George Bush
Black Political Thought 