Celebrating Nelson Mandela on his 95th Birthday

Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela

Apartheid eradicator, South African icon, and former President Nelson Mandela celebrates his 95th birthday today. Mandela, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa, is celebrating his birthday on his 41st day in a Pretoria, South Africa hospital.

The United Nations declared Thursday Nelson Mandela International Day as a way of recognizing the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s contribution to reconciliation. Mandela, also known by his clan name Madiba, was jailed for 27 years under white minority rule and led a difficult transition from apartheid to democracy, becoming president in all-race elections in 1994.

Today we look to the positive indications of improvement in Madiba’s health and recognize his impact on human rights throughout the world on the occasion of his 95th birthday. In comparison to apartheid, the civil rights struggles of the Latino community in Anaheim to break the chains of manipulation that keep them unrepresented in their local government seem insignificant. But inspiration and hope for success can be found in South Africa’s transition to ethnic majority rule and in Mandela’s leadership.

the unstoppable wave of change will eventually come to Anaheim. We hope to see that change arrive in Mandela’s lifetime.

3 Comments

  1. Mandela is Mandela, but post-apartheid South Africa can definitely be instructive. Hope and inspiration certainly doesn’t come in the form of the Marikana Massacre last year which goes to show how, despite the transition to ethnic majority rule, the jewel of the South African economy has largely remained in the possession of the white colonizers. Expect the same once district elections enact a political reform, but mostly white developers have their power entrenched and the barrios remain with all the manifestations of systemic violence.

    Not the analogy you were looking for? My bad!

  2. Meanwhile, black-on-black anti-immigrant xenophobia and violence is growing as Somalis and other Africans flee famine and civil war in their home countries.

Comments are closed.