The Meaning of Mandela
The passing of Nelson Mandela has stirred emotion around the globe. Recently, Ebony.com invited me to share my thoughts on Mandela’s legacy as an African-American with Pan-Africanist sensibilities. Check them out below.
On December 5th, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, affectionately known as Tata Madiba to some, transitioned to the ancestral realm. His name rings in many corners of the globe and on Tuesday he was memorialized in South Africa, but his relevance and importance to global and local freedom struggles cannot be underestimated. In the past few days, many accounts have sought to paint him as both revolutionary and peaceful, anti-establishment, as well as establishmentarian—the truth is that in 95 his years Mandela was all of these things. Through my own lens as an African-American with Pan-Africanist sensibilities, his diverse personas lent me insight into what “a long walk to freedom” looked like and why we all must engage in the process of creating, not only more just communities, but a more just world.
Filed under: Activism, Ancestors, BHC, Black Men, Black Women, Boundaries, Ebony, Electoral Politics, empire, foreign policy, Gender, Harlem, International, Obama, Public Policy, Race, Racism
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