RIP Nelson Mandela

On December 5^th, I got on my computer like I do every day at the end of my day and found out something that made me both sad and proud at the same time. Nelson Mandela, South African Freedom Fighter and its first Black President had died at the age of 95.

I pause here to take a look at the people we will never know who fought for freedom and by freedom I don’t mean the ability to push their version of freedom on others, but the ability to respect all people as equally valid before each other. For the Christian, the Atheist, The Muslin, the Jew, The Rastafari, the Geek, the Judge, the Worker, The Teacher…and so on. There are many people who fought for a just society whose names we will never know but were represented well by the faces of those we do know. We may never know their names, but their sacrifice, hardship, and struggle are no less than the leaders and faces, whose bold voices lead them to their path to independence and self-autonomy in a fair and just society. Their sacrifice fuels the fire of those who fight for a living wage, safe drinking water, better regulations of big banks, and more efficient and common sense reforms so that people will be at the middle of their government, not Big Business.

Nelson Mandela represents the power of the people to change their government for the better, to fight to end racial injustice and though they fought it violently there was no choice. A nationalist government had come into power in 1949 (fascist) and had turned a deaf ear to the people, blacks were not allowed to vote and law after law after law kept them from moving up the social ladder. It was not even one step forward. They had to get their government’s attention and they needed to keep international pressure on. It made it to episodes of A Different World & The Cosby Show, a new African awareness of our brothers and sisters across the land from us. (I would suggest this book Kinship to everyone who cares about relations between America and Africa and how the 2 cultures deal with eachother I liken them to cousins who moved away lived different lives and are now amazed at how different they now are)

Nelson Mandela is/was/will be remembered for the ages. A man who selflessly gave of himself because he had vision and was willing to pay with his life for that vision. All of us who care for civil rights, for human rights, for the dignity and respect of others will cherish this man for what he taught us in his life, with all of his imperfections, with all of his failures and successes with everything that has lead us to this day. The world lost a treasure today and a lot of history is lost with him, but a lot of history is known because of him. I read a book earlier this year or last year called No Easy Walk To Freedom, a collection of essays with a foreward by Walter Sisulu and I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed looking up things about South Africa and surrounding nations and the struggle for independence in Kinship and other sources. Nelson Mandela is a picture of a man retaining his humanity in the midst of inhuman treatment, much like Paul Rasusubanga of Hotel Rwanda which lasted 29 years for him

RIP Noble Warrior. May the angels speed your path