A legacy of fighting Nelson Mandela clocks 90
http://www.michronicleonline.com/articlelive/articles/2912/1/A-legacy-of-fighting--Nelson-Mandela-clocks-90/Page1.html
Bankole Thompson
By Bankole Thompson
Published on 07/16/2008
“I have fought against White domination and I have fought against Black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela in his own words from the dock at the Rivonia trial before the Pretoria Supreme Court, June 11, 1964. After his famous “I am Prepared to Die” speech, Mandela and seven others, including Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Golberg would be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
What was their crime?
For standing against a brutal and racist apartheid regime that shamelessly carried out well orchestrated economic subjugation and blatant dehumanization against a race of people in the face of an international community that stood by and watched as Mandela and his colleagues were rushed to prison.
On Feb. 11, 1990, Mandela came out of Robben Island. His release was symbolic as well as pragmatic for Blacks in South Africa and around the world. The essence of his 27-year imprisonment and subsequent release provided the political framework for emancipation struggles involving oppressed people around the globe. From the streets of Detroit, which led mass demonstrations, to the towns and villages in Nigeria whose leaders supported Mandela, the cries of liberation could be heard just as in the film “Sarafina.”
Mandela turns 90 on Friday. He is still strong, poised and candid about the issues affecting the lives of ordinary South Africans and people everywhere. In London at a celebration concert, he chastised Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe’s “tragic failure of leadership,” in a country where the leader is like a modern-day Adolph Hitler who subjects his people to abject poverty, gross human rights violations in totalitarian style and then callously call it a defense against White rule.
As the world celebrates the birthday of Mandela, who has become the most important political icon of our lifetime, it is important to note that his remarks from the Rivonia trial remain his signature to the struggle for not only political empowerment, but economic liberation for the masses of Black South Africans.
In South Africa he is called “Tata,” which means “father”; some say “Madiba,” which refers to the clan he belongs to; and still others call him “Khulu,” which means “great” or “paramount.”
In Detroit we should name a street or an educational institution after Mandela. If the city of London in Britain can erect a life-size statue of Mandela alongside British war heroes, Detroit, which is the Mecca of Black America, should name a street or school after Mandela to honor his legendary lighthouse global statesmanship.
Leadership is not only parading the emblem of being the largest African American conclave in the nation. Leadership means also honoring the lives of those who have been remarkably pivotal in the battle for political and economic emancipation of an oppressed people. Too often the habitual form of celebration in the Black community is to wait for such exemplary leaders to pass away before any concrete show of respect and observance of their legacy is instituted.
It is instructive that Detroit was one of the first places Mandela made his triumphant entry in 1990 for a major rally at the Tiger stadium after his release from jail. It was not surprising that after getting off the plane at the airport in Detroit, one of the first persons Mandela recognized among the entourage (including Mayor Coleman A. Young) that came out to meet him was Rosa Parks, matriarch of the Civil Rights Movement who had chosen Detroit as her home.
“He is the epicenter of the African liberation movement. His magnificent legacy and work is worthy of honor and respect globally,” said Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson. “I remember when he came to Detroit for the city-wide tribute. While New York City spent three days raising money for him, Detroit did it in one day.”
Yes. That again is no mistake because to know Detroit’s history is to understand that it is a place rooted in popular struggle and mass mobilization; it is where Martin Luther King Jr. first delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech and Malcolm X gave his “The Ballot or the Bullet” presentation. It is the home of Albert Cleage Jr. where he gave a different meaning to Christianity, emphasizing a Black theology that advocates the empowerment of the Black community. Detroiters, both Black and White, recognized the significance of what was going on in South Africa.
I recall three years before she died, former Detroit City Council President Maryann Mahaffey engaged me in a deep conversation at her office about her view of the world. Mahaffey was not the typical politician. She was always accessible to the media, myself and other city beat reporters covering city hall for interviews or disentangling any complicated public policy. She was upfront, and always made it clear where she stood: the spirited fight to uplift the underprivileged.
And so in my conversation with Mahaffey she recounted so many stories about her life. But one that stood out the most and showed the nexus between Detroit and South Africa was her arrest in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., for demonstrating against the apartheid regime.
Out of all her noble work, Mahaffey’s anti-apartheid moment in Washington, D.C., helped to define her legacy as a White woman who did not pander to race and racism but the commonality of the struggles of the underclass across races. She was honest about fighting racism and wasn’t uncomfortable in doing so.
In a Mandela tradition, Mahaffey rose above the chasms that divide us and helped the underclass that esteemed newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer urged journalists to always cover.
“What Mandela has done has not been met by any other person in the last 100 years. To be deprived of freedom and come out with a pure heart to heal the people is an example for us to look up to,” said attorney Gregory Reed, one of five curators of Michigan State University exhibit “Dear Mr. Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks: Children’s Letters, Global Lessons” opening July 19 at the Nelson Mandela National Museum in Mthatha, South Africa. The exhibit is a collection of letters written by children around the world to Mandela and Parks.
International photojournalist Monica Morgan’s photos of Parks are part of the exhibit. Morgan served as Parks’ personal and official photographer before her death. She also covered Mandela’s 1990 visit to Detroit as the Michigan Chronicle designated photographer.
“My experiences with Mrs. Parks prepared me to capture the moment when Nelson Mandela went from prisoner to president. I was there when he raised his hand to take the oath of office, when the bombs exploded in protest of the first all race elections and the actual voting,” Morgan said on her way to South Africa for the exhibit opening.
However beyond the celebrations, South Africa, like Detroit, is still in the battle for equal economic opportunities where poverty is grinding lives. That is why Archbishop Desmond Tutu is often at odds with the government of Thabo Mbeki, calling for moral responsibility.
Political freedom is an achievement. Economic opportunities with sound policies that do not undercut the road for real economic transformation is what South Africa and any other developing nation or struggling city needs. Any serious political leadership that aims to empower economically starving communities would work towards creating possibilities and action-oriented programs that would lead to well-paying jobs. A hungry community or nation cannot feed on empty fiery rhetoric as Mugabe is forcing his people to do or sing refrains of “Gloriana Africana.”
Understanding Mandela’s legacy on his birthday would mean working for economic freedom. Nelson Mandela did his part.
He issued this warning at the conclusion of his London speech before a crowd of 46,000.
“Madiba” urged, “Our work is for freedom for all. We say tonight, after nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now, I thank you.”
Bankole Thompson, a radio and television analyst directs the editorial expression of the Michigan Chronicle on issues. His latest book, “A Matter of Black Transformation,” deals with Blacks and globalization. E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com,visit www.bankolethompson.com, or www.michronicleonline.com.
“I have fought against White domination and I have fought against Black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Detroit was key to South Africa’s liberation
“I have fought against White domination and I have fought against Black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela in his own words from the dock at the Rivonia trial before the Pretoria Supreme Court, June 11, 1964. After his famous “I am Prepared to Die” speech, Mandela and seven others, including Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Golberg would be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
What was their crime?
For standing against a brutal and racist apartheid regime that shamelessly carried out well orchestrated economic subjugation and blatant dehumanization against a race of people in the face of an international community that stood by and watched as Mandela and his colleagues were rushed to prison.
On Feb. 11, 1990, Mandela came out of Robben Island. His release was symbolic as well as pragmatic for Blacks in South Africa and around the world. The essence of his 27-year imprisonment and subsequent release provided the political framework for emancipation struggles involving oppressed people around the globe. From the streets of Detroit, which led mass demonstrations, to the towns and villages in Nigeria whose leaders supported Mandela, the cries of liberation could be heard just as in the film “Sarafina.”
Mandela turns 90 on Friday. He is still strong, poised and candid about the issues affecting the lives of ordinary South Africans and people everywhere. In London at a celebration concert, he chastised Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe’s “tragic failure of leadership,” in a country where the leader is like a modern-day Adolph Hitler who subjects his people to abject poverty, gross human rights violations in totalitarian style and then callously call it a defense against White rule.
As the world celebrates the birthday of Mandela, who has become the most important political icon of our lifetime, it is important to note that his remarks from the Rivonia trial remain his signature to the struggle for not only political empowerment, but economic liberation for the masses of Black South Africans.
In South Africa he is called “Tata,” which means “father”; some say “Madiba,” which refers to the clan he belongs to; and still others call him “Khulu,” which means “great” or “paramount.”
In Detroit we should name a street or an educational institution after Mandela. If the city of London in Britain can erect a life-size statue of Mandela alongside British war heroes, Detroit, which is the Mecca of Black America, should name a street or school after Mandela to honor his legendary lighthouse global statesmanship.
Leadership is not only parading the emblem of being the largest African American conclave in the nation. Leadership means also honoring the lives of those who have been remarkably pivotal in the battle for political and economic emancipation of an oppressed people. Too often the habitual form of celebration in the Black community is to wait for such exemplary leaders to pass away before any concrete show of respect and observance of their legacy is instituted.
It is instructive that Detroit was one of the first places Mandela made his triumphant entry in 1990 for a major rally at the Tiger stadium after his release from jail. It was not surprising that after getting off the plane at the airport in Detroit, one of the first persons Mandela recognized among the entourage (including Mayor Coleman A. Young) that came out to meet him was Rosa Parks, matriarch of the Civil Rights Movement who had chosen Detroit as her home.
“He is the epicenter of the African liberation movement. His magnificent legacy and work is worthy of honor and respect globally,” said Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson. “I remember when he came to Detroit for the city-wide tribute. While New York City spent three days raising money for him, Detroit did it in one day.”
Yes. That again is no mistake because to know Detroit’s history is to understand that it is a place rooted in popular struggle and mass mobilization; it is where Martin Luther King Jr. first delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech and Malcolm X gave his “The Ballot or the Bullet” presentation. It is the home of Albert Cleage Jr. where he gave a different meaning to Christianity, emphasizing a Black theology that advocates the empowerment of the Black community. Detroiters, both Black and White, recognized the significance of what was going on in South Africa.
I recall three years before she died, former Detroit City Council President Maryann Mahaffey engaged me in a deep conversation at her office about her view of the world. Mahaffey was not the typical politician. She was always accessible to the media, myself and other city beat reporters covering city hall for interviews or disentangling any complicated public policy. She was upfront, and always made it clear where she stood: the spirited fight to uplift the underprivileged.
And so in my conversation with Mahaffey she recounted so many stories about her life. But one that stood out the most and showed the nexus between Detroit and South Africa was her arrest in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., for demonstrating against the apartheid regime.
Out of all her noble work, Mahaffey’s anti-apartheid moment in Washington, D.C., helped to define her legacy as a White woman who did not pander to race and racism but the commonality of the struggles of the underclass across races. She was honest about fighting racism and wasn’t uncomfortable in doing so.
In a Mandela tradition, Mahaffey rose above the chasms that divide us and helped the underclass that esteemed newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer urged journalists to always cover.
“What Mandela has done has not been met by any other person in the last 100 years. To be deprived of freedom and come out with a pure heart to heal the people is an example for us to look up to,” said attorney Gregory Reed, one of five curators of Michigan State University exhibit “Dear Mr. Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks: Children’s Letters, Global Lessons” opening July 19 at the Nelson Mandela National Museum in Mthatha, South Africa. The exhibit is a collection of letters written by children around the world to Mandela and Parks.
International photojournalist Monica Morgan’s photos of Parks are part of the exhibit. Morgan served as Parks’ personal and official photographer before her death. She also covered Mandela’s 1990 visit to Detroit as the Michigan Chronicle designated photographer.
“My experiences with Mrs. Parks prepared me to capture the moment when Nelson Mandela went from prisoner to president. I was there when he raised his hand to take the oath of office, when the bombs exploded in protest of the first all race elections and the actual voting,” Morgan said on her way to South Africa for the exhibit opening.
However beyond the celebrations, South Africa, like Detroit, is still in the battle for equal economic opportunities where poverty is grinding lives. That is why Archbishop Desmond Tutu is often at odds with the government of Thabo Mbeki, calling for moral responsibility.
Political freedom is an achievement. Economic opportunities with sound policies that do not undercut the road for real economic transformation is what South Africa and any other developing nation or struggling city needs. Any serious political leadership that aims to empower economically starving communities would work towards creating possibilities and action-oriented programs that would lead to well-paying jobs. A hungry community or nation cannot feed on empty fiery rhetoric as Mugabe is forcing his people to do or sing refrains of “Gloriana Africana.”
Understanding Mandela’s legacy on his birthday would mean working for economic freedom. Nelson Mandela did his part.
He issued this warning at the conclusion of his London speech before a crowd of 46,000.
“Madiba” urged, “Our work is for freedom for all. We say tonight, after nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now, I thank you.”
Bankole Thompson, a radio and television analyst directs the editorial expression of the Michigan Chronicle on issues. His latest book, “A Matter of Black Transformation,” deals with Blacks and globalization. E-mail bthompson@michronicle.com,visit www.bankolethompson.com, or www.michronicleonline.com.