Many thanks to my fellow 3CHICS bloggers as well as the folks at The Obama Diary, for their in-depth coverage since the passing of Nelson Mandela.
Speakers Named For Nelson Mandela Ceremony
Dec 9, 2013
By Associated PressSouth Africa says United States President Barack Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be among world leaders speaking at a mass memorial service for Nelson Mandela.
South Africa’s government released the list of speakers for the Tuesday memorial, expected to last four hours at stadium at Soweto Township near Johannesburg.
Beyond Obama and Ban, the government says the following leaders will speak:
– Brazil President Dilma Rousseff;
– Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao;
– Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba;
– Indian President Pranab Mukherjee; and
– Cuban President Raul Castro.
South African President Jacob Zuma will give the keynote address.
Mandela’s family and friends also will speak at the ceremony, which will include a sermon.
Nelson Mandela obituary part one: one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century
Former President of South Africa, who guided the country from apartheid to democracy during a life filled with hardship and struggle
Nelson Mandela, who has died aged 95, was the architect of South Africa’s transformation from racial despotism to liberal democracy, saving his country from civil war and becoming its first black president.
This singular triumph crowned a tempestuous life, filled with hardship and struggle. Mandela spent 27 years behind bars, and more than a decade before that as a hardened enemy of the white supremacist regime, serving variously as street activist, guerrilla leader and township lawyer
As such, he was the one man with the credibility to secure the political settlement that toppled apartheid and allowed the birth of a democratic South Africa in 1994. Not even the fiercest black radical could question Mandela’s devotion to the struggle and, by the same token, no white South African could doubt the sincerity of his remarkable gestures of reconciliation.
When the critical period came after his release from prison in 1990, Mandela seemed to take on a Churchillian mantle. His entire life up to that moment was but a preparation for the supreme task of delivering South Africa peacefully to democracy and avoiding the calamity of a race war. Like Britain’s wartime leader, Mandela appeared as a man of destiny who saved his country at the hour of its greatest peril.
“If this man wasn’t there,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu observed, “the whole country would have gone up in flames.”
And so, on May 10 1994, Mandela took the oath as South Africa’s first freely elected president. The generals and police commanders who led the security forces, all of them apartheid-era placemen, saluted their new leader and declared their loyalty – for the most part, with genuine sincerity. His predecessor, FW de Klerk, moved down to become second deputy president. And Mandela declared in ringing tones: “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”
For decades the apartheid regime had represented him as a dangerous “communist terrorist”. In fact, he was an Anglophile lawyer, filled with reverence for democratic institutions, particularly those shaped in Britain. In the 1950s, he was indeed a young radical, who came to favour an “armed struggle” and may once have been a secret member of the banned Communist party. The young Mandela was arrogant, stubborn, feckless and combative in equal measure.
But his 27 years behind bars changed him deeply. He came to see that apartheid reflected the deeply ingrained fears of South Africa’s white minority, who believed that black rule would inevitably entail their dispossession, expulsion, or – at worst – massacre. In the isolation of his prison cell, surrounded by Afrikaner warders whom he always treated as equals, Mandela realised that reassurance and reconciliation was the way to kill off apartheid.
Actress Lenora Crichlow sets off to discover the story of how Nelson Mandela brought peace to his country and what he means to people there today. She uncovers a more complex and fascinating picture of Mandela and his country than she ever imagined, discovering a vibrant Rainbow Nation but also learning more about the horrors of apartheid and the extent of poverty and violence. On her journey she unlocks the secrets of who Mandela really is and why his achievements are so special and so admired.
Nelson Mandela obituary part two: stirring up trouble
Son of a chief of the Thembu clan of the Xhosa people, young Rolihlahla Mandela attends a local Methodist mission school. Here a British teacher, finding his name difficult to pronounce, christens him ‘Nelson’ after the admiral
Rolihlahla (the name means “stirring up trouble”) Mandela was born on July 18 1918 at Mvezo, a village on the banks of the Mbashe River in the district of Umtata, the capital of the Transkei. His father was a chief of the Thembu clan of the Xhosa people and a descendant of King Ngubengcuka, who had ruled over all the Thembus early in the 19th century.
Mandela was one of about 12 children from four wives. His mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was wife number three and Mandela’s first years were spent with his three sisters in his mother’s kraal. Although Nosekeni Fanny could claim a prouder pedigree than her husband — she belonged to the senior branch of King Ngubengcuka’s descendants — the family led a simple life, without a stick of furniture. For the rest of his life, Mandela clung to a romantic vision of a golden age before the arrival of the white man, when “the land belonged to the whole tribe and there was no individual ownership whatever. There were no classes, no rich or poor, and no exploitation of man by man.” Like President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, he believed that “class is alien to Africa, socialism and democracy indigenous”.
When Mandela was about nine, his father died. This might have meant the end of his education, for his mother could neither read nor write, and lacked the means to send her son to school. But the Thembu paramount chief, Dalindyebo Jongintaba, invited the boy to live with his family, and sent him to Healdtown, a Methodist mission school.
It was there that a British teacher – one Mr Wellington – decided that “Rolihlahla” was too difficult to pronounce and awarded Mandela the name “Nelson”, after the admiral. His early life was strangely divided: at school he learnt ballroom dancing and was steeped in English literature and British history, courtesy of Mr Wellington. At home, he endured a traditional circumcision ceremony.
Though the Methodism failed to stick — despite his mother’s devout Christianity, Mandela had little time for religion — he proved a diligent and competent pupil, and gained entrance to Fort Hare, the only university for blacks in South Africa.
There, his rebellious streak showed for the first time. In 1940 he led a boycott of lectures in protest against the autocratic university administration, and was rusticated.
Chief Jongintaba demanded that he should apologise and return to Fort Hare, but Mandela was unrepentant. With one of the chief’s sons, he stole a cow from his benefactor and used the proceeds to make a dash for Johannesburg. Apart from other considerations, he was anxious to escape from the marriage which Chief Jongintaba had arranged for him.
Mandela found a job as a nightwatchman in Crown Mines, outside Johannesburg, only to be sacked when his boss discovered that he had run away from home. In the event Mandela succeeded in convincing his guardian that he should continue his studies in Johannesburg and become a lawyer. Like many a rural romantic, he preferred to live in the city.
Mandela’s natural distinction prevented him from being overwhelmed by the squalor and hopelessness of Alexandra, the black township of Johannesburg where he lived. Years later in prison he berated himself for his youthful failure to appreciate the kindnesses that he had received.
In 1941 he became friends with Walter Sisulu, the future secretary-general of the ANC who would one day share his imprisonment. Sisulu arranged for him to work as a clerk for a firm of white lawyers, in particular an attorney named Lazer Sidelsky, who treated him almost as a younger brother.
At the same time Mandela followed a correspondence course at Witwatersrand University, achieving his BA degree in 1942. His political ideas developed from his association with educated African professionals, who, whether Christian or Marxist, shared the dream of African nationalism. In the real world, by contrast, Mandela saw an Indian with whom he had been travelling prosecuted for bringing “a Kaffir” on to the bus.
Mandela and Sisulu were natural recruits to the African National Congress (ANC), the only vehicle for black dissent. Impatient with the moderation and gradualism of its elderly leadership, they formed the Youth League, which came to dominate the ANC. Mandela was on the committee of the Youth League from its inception, and became its leader in 1947.
But he was not exclusively involved in politics and law. He was keenly interested in boxing. He loved the cinema, good restaurants and exotic food. Most of all, he loved smart clothes, dressing snappily and prizing his many suits. And he had many girlfriends. At some point in the early 1940s, Sisulu introduced him to his quiet, pretty cousin Evelyn Mase. She was three years younger than Mandela and training as a nurse at the non-European Hospital at Hillbrow in northern Johannesburg.
Evelyn was not interested in politics, but she had no doubts about Mandela. “He was handsome and charming and he made me laugh,” she remembered. “I thought he was beautiful.” Mandela seemed equally struck, and in 1944 they were married in a register office, despite Evelyn’s devout Anglican background. She had not yet been introduced to any of Mandela’s family. They moved into a two-roomed matchbox house in the Orlando area of Soweto, with no ceiling and no plaster on the walls. Thembi, the Mandelas’ first child, was born in 1945. Two years later they found slightly better lodging, but this did not prevent their next child, Makaziwe, a daughter, dying of meningitis at nine months.
Nelson and Winnie
Nelson Mandela obituary part three: domestic and political strife
Nelson Mandela obituary part four: a marked man
Mandela obituary part five: imprisoned on Robben Island
First meal after his release from prison.
Nelson Mandela obituary part six: guiding South Africa from apartheid to democracy
Nelson Mandela obituary part seven: truth and reconciliation
With Bishop Tutu
Nelson Mandela the orator: his most powerful speeches
Winning the Nobel Prize
At his inauguration as the first Black President of South Africa
EPIC Side Eye, people
BWA HA HA HA There appears to be a seat change too, eh?
Great picture!
Thanks for all the photos you and rikyrah are posting, SG2!
Oh, have you taken a nap yet? I just posted below that I thought you might be sleeping by now.
I slept for about 2 hours and had to get up. :)
3 hours for me.
Such a momentous day!
These photos of the memorial service attendees ae marvelous! Thank you, Rikyrah.
https://twitter.com/__Senz/status/410307419819245568/photo/1
So true. They share a LOVE. PERIOD
https://twitter.com/ajamlive/status/410384275109072896/photo/1
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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POTUS: “The world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph”
5:34 AM – 10 Dec 2013
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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POTUS: “Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century” #MandelaMemorial
5:34 AM – 10 Dec 2013
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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POTUS on Madiba: “He would, like Abraham Lincoln hold his country together when it threatened to break apart” #MandelaMemorial
5:35 AM – 10 Dec 2013
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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POTUS quotes Mandela: “I am not a saint he said, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” #MandelaMemorial
5:38 AM – 10 Dec 2013
Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
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President Obama on Mandela: “He was not a bust made of marble. He was a man made of flesh and blood.” #MandelaMemorial
5:39 AM – 10 Dec 2013
Obama honors Mandela legacy in Johannesburg
12/10/13 08:42 AM
By Steve Benen
President Obama addressed a massive South African crowd today at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, and if you missed his remarks, they’re worth your time. (For those who can’t watch clips online, the White House has already posted a transcript.)
The oratory on Madiba’s life and legacy was stirring, but perhaps the most salient rhetoric came when Obama looked ahead.
It was pointed precisely because it applied to some of the very leaders who traveled to South Africa for the event and heard the rhetoric from the stage.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/obama-honors-mandela-legacy-johannesburg
President Barack Obama pays his respect to former South African President Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel
I am going to print this out.
Just wanted to thank everyone here at 3CHICS for being here today to celebrate Madiba’s life.
Yes, thank you Everyone!
Thank you, Rikyrah, for posting this heart-felt thread. Madiba’s legacy will forever be with us. FOREVER…
http://youtu.be/UMK6bS0lomY
Thanks for posting these videos of Idris. This had to be one of my favorites from Oprah’s series of interiviews this year.
http://youtu.be/_7PEXYPXc4w
Thanks for this video, rikyrah.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“We thank you God and we promise God to follow the example of Nelson Mandela.”
Amen!
T.J. Holmes @tjholmes6m
Castro: Cuba was “born in the struggle for independence .. (our) children have African blood in their veins.” #MandelaMemorial
Closing
Long live Madiba!
Bishop Abrahams giving sermon now.
For everything there is a season verses from Bible.
Bishop Abrahams comments:
He is a man who inspired and a man who inspires.
You gave us a prophet, a chromatic transformational leader, a friend to all and an enemy to none, who proclaimed a different world is possible, he will stand out a light.
It is love for Madiba that has made us come here.
People like Madiba never die….they live in the hearts of people
correction- charismatic , transformational leader
Bishop Abrahams comments:
Madela was prepared to listen to the dreams and hopes of those on the margins of society.
This is an excellent sermon.
Let’s try later to post a link to the transcript.
Bishop Abrahams:
We are his heirs, his sons and daughters, we have been endowed to take his legacy further.
His mantle can be picked up by all of us.
Scripture says do not grow weary of doing good.
President Obama’s swagger is on 100!
Oh, yeah!
I am so proud of our President!
His speech was so moving and inspirational!
President Obama Speech Nelson Mandela Memorial
Thanks for this, SG2.
I have already emailed it out in two emails!
thanks for this, SG2
Moving Tribute to Madiba, Mr. President. Thank you, SG2!
PBO- “While I will always fall short of Madiba’s example,he makes me want to be a better man”
May I ALSO, by keeping his lessons close to my heart, be inspired to be BETTER woman!
Thank you, Madiba for your teachings, lessons and guidance!
UBUNTU!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/it-took-a-village/2013/12/09/7487c3c2-6128-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html?hpid=z3
Transcript of President Obama’s speech:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/nelson-mandela-president-obama-speech-transcript-100932.html
Potus RAISED the roof! ‘Ubuntu’!
Yes, he DID!
UBUNTU!
ROCK IT, POTUS!
Yes!
He is speaking TRUTH!
MEMORABLE speech!!!!!
Fantastic!
Speak Potus!
Crowd goes absolutely wild when they see Potus.
Deep, moving and inspirational words by President Obama!
John King saying Potus will get criticism for shaking hands with Raul Castro. No one has hate in their heart except republicans. Pound sand!
That’s JK’s way of telling folks to criticise. These jackals are nothing but SHIT-STIRRERS.
Kirk Franklin in South Africa!
Is that Kirk Franklin?
We mourn, but we rejoice that we and the world were blessed by Mandela who truly made the world a better place. May we honor him by keeping his teachings and guidance close to our hearts.
The roots of Mandela’s service
Temba Maqubela is headmaster at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts. He fought against apartheid, escaped persecution, and, in 1986, came to the United States as a political refugee.
By Temba Maqubela,
No one should have doubted that, in the end, Nelson Mandela would be buried in his village, not in a grand public setting in Johannesburg. For it was Qunu that made Mandela a leader.
I grew up 13 miles from Qunu. In that village, like my own, neighbors nurtured the children who showed promise, celebrating their successes, collecting provisions when they were able to continue their education in boarding school or, more rarely, in college…
To really know Mandela, it helps to understand the concept of ubuntu. The Xhosa word is difficult to define, but it refers to the interconnectivity of one to another. In a Xhosa village like Mandela’s, when someone asks, “How are you?” the answer is not “I am fine.” It is, “We are fine.”…
In Qunu, Mandela lived a life of relative privilege, but in the village culture, that called for an extra dose of humility. His uncle was the acting king of the Thembus, part of the Xhosa people, and young Mandela was present during the many meetings in his village, where he would hear the egalitarian aspirations of elders, absorbing their dreams and frustrations. Mandela also herded cattle, as I and any boy growing up far from the townships did. Humility defined him.
Yet, when Mandela was 33 and heading the Youth League of the African National Congress, he announced publicly during protests on Jan Van Riebeeck Day, a holiday celebrating the whites’ arrival in South Africa, that he would someday become the first president of a liberated South Africa. Were these the words of a humble man? Yes—but also the words of a man who realized black South Africa needed energy, and, despite the callous and brutal killings, hope. Those who were fighting against apartheid had, up to that moment, been focused on equal rights. They had not considered for a moment that the highest office in the country could belong to a black…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/it-took-a-village/2013/12/09/7487c3c2-6128-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html?hpid=z3
Love this quote from above article:
Nelson Mandela at his trial:
Dr. Zuma, first woman AU director
Are you two also getting an echo in the speech?
fixed it
Wonderful!
POTUS IS UP NEXT!
I am so excited!
Super! Thanks!
http://youtu.be/R0zfhjNo-vw
Oh, good. Thanks for this, rikyrah.
Will watch later today.
Mother Africa, Miriam Makeba!
We are watching what I imagine will be considered THE most historic event of the 21st century!
I’d say second. PBO’s election and inauguration is the most historic event of the 21st century. Just my opinion.
Oh thanks for reminding me that PBO’s election and inauguration is also in the 21st century. I could not contain my joy and excitement that night!
I agree with you, Ametia.
And, PBO’s speech today was absolutely fantastic and the love and applause he received today says it all!
And, yet let’s not forget that Mandela went through the suffering and imprisonment of a freedom fighter like ours PLUS was elected the first Black president of South Africa!
He was a giant!
Good Morning, Ladies.
Bless you for being up so early.
This is a wonderful homegoing for Madiba.
Good morning, rikyrah!
Yes, this is a WONDERFUL home going for Madiba!
Morning, Chica! I haven’t went to bed yet. :)
Bet she is sleeping now. I just woke up from a 3 hour nap.
Let tiptoe and keep the volume down :)
Crowd sees President Obama and cheering wildly!
They love President Obama as we do!
Yes!!!!!!!!!
Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren are now speaking.
Over 91 countries have sent delegations
I have to turn @CNN off. They’re disgusting. For crying out loud..We want to hear the service.
I am listening to
http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-nelson-mandela-memorial-service-watch-it-live-20131209-dto,0,5338676.story#axzz2n3uHdS6Y
No commentary over the speakers
Very respectful
Great picture
So moving!
He is so loved!
The love is deep!
Yes it is!!!
Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan
Thanks for this, SG2
DA DA Madiba singing
I’m glad you’re back. :)
I was listening but also look at old news photos :)
What a wonderful photo!
Graca Machel
President Obama’s motorcade making its way to the FNB stadium.
President Zuma arrives…
Rikyrah– hats off to you for the thread. You rocked it as always. Big up, Chica!
x2
Thanks Rikyrah!
Torrents of rain and wind
And it’s not stopping the people. They’re celebrating!
Graca Machel arrives and kisses and embraces Winnie and her daughter
Pres. of Nigeria arriving
Kenyatta Pres. of Kenya
Dancing and singing of crowd — so beautiful, so colorful
Pres. of Brazil
Winnie and Graça embrace each other. **tears**
So very moving!
Indeed!
Here comes Winnie Mandela and the crowd goes wild…
Thabo Mbeki arrived in the stadium and the crowd went wild cheering!
Yes we do!
Now arriving: Wini Mandela and daughter arriving
People sing and dance as they arrive at Nelson Mandela Memorial Service
with commentary:
http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-nelson-mandela-memorial-service-watch-it-live-20131209-dto,0,5338676.story#axzz2n3uHdS6Y
Sec. General of UN arriving
Head of African Union (Azuma)–first woman of AU–arriving
Good Morning, SG2!
Good morning, Yahtc!
I am watching on this:
http://www.ustream.tv/cbsnews
Afganistan president arriving
20,000 people are in the stadium and the people are celebrating. *goosebumps*
Here comes the Band…
President Obama has arrived for Mandela’s memorial service. 👏👏👏
https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/410283393885011968/photo/1
Crowds singing at Mandela Memorial
Good morning, everyone!
A day of celebrating Madiba’s life! I salute you, Nelson Mandela!
Bless your soul!