For those who have not have the privilege of knowing Senator Josh Stein since his college days. Even as a young college Freshman he inspired an entire generation of students. Josh brought the anti-apartheid movement to our isolated New England campus and with it opened the hearts and minds of many fellow students. One classmate posted yesterday about this being her first exposure to any sorts of global politics- and many of us share the same sentiment. Those of you in NC are so lucky to have Josh representing you. Randi B
Nelson Mandela was a remarkable man.
Consider his bravery in the face of a likely execution at his trial in Rivonia, his dignity in prison that resulted in his jailers' profound respect for him, his integrity after decades in prison in refusing to be released early under conditions, his magnanimity toward his oppressors upon his release, his grace in leading his nation and stepping down after only one term, and his humanity in the way that he treated people.
I have had many blessings in my life, one of which was the opportunity to shake Mandela's hand in 1994. My friend and classmate Juliette Kayyem and I were on a flight to Johannesburg for a winter-term research project for Professor Charles Ogletree. Mandela was on the flight, too. He was running for President and came back and greeted every single person on the plane. Everyone -- black, white, Indian, South African, American -- was absolutely giddy to be in his presence. Just look at his smile; it warmed the plane.
Another blessing was that I was teaching in Zimbabwe in 1989 and 1990 at a school that included a number of disabled ANC freedom fighters when a great deal of change was taking place in South Africa. There, I became friends with Phyllis Naidoo, a long-time ANC leader who also died this year, and her daughter Sukhthi. I had the incredible honor of being at a celebration at Phyllis' house the day in February 1990 when Mandela first appeared on the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall upon his release. To witness the joy and tears of people who had given so much for the cause of freedom was another blessing I will never forget.
Nelson Mandela was an inspiration to millions across the world, myself included. Some of my first political activity was at Dartmouth in 1985 protesting apartheid South Africa and the college's investments in companies doing business there. We built shanties on the green to encourage the school to divest, which it eventually did. This was a time of daily protests outside the South African embassy in DC (as well as around the world), which contributed to the imposition of economic sanctions on South Africa in 1986 that took a bite out of its economy and helped convince its business community that apartheid was unsustainable.
The effort by South Africans to liberate their country involved incredible sacrifice by hundreds of thousands of people and decades of struggle. But the fact that there was one man around whom they and the rest of the world could rally, a man who lived up to the ideals he voiced is a blessing for this world.
Consider his bravery in the face of a likely execution at his trial in Rivonia, his dignity in prison that resulted in his jailers' profound respect for him, his integrity after decades in prison in refusing to be released early under conditions, his magnanimity toward his oppressors upon his release, his grace in leading his nation and stepping down after only one term, and his humanity in the way that he treated people.
I have had many blessings in my life, one of which was the opportunity to shake Mandela's hand in 1994. My friend and classmate Juliette Kayyem and I were on a flight to Johannesburg for a winter-term research project for Professor Charles Ogletree. Mandela was on the flight, too. He was running for President and came back and greeted every single person on the plane. Everyone -- black, white, Indian, South African, American -- was absolutely giddy to be in his presence. Just look at his smile; it warmed the plane.
Another blessing was that I was teaching in Zimbabwe in 1989 and 1990 at a school that included a number of disabled ANC freedom fighters when a great deal of change was taking place in South Africa. There, I became friends with Phyllis Naidoo, a long-time ANC leader who also died this year, and her daughter Sukhthi. I had the incredible honor of being at a celebration at Phyllis' house the day in February 1990 when Mandela first appeared on the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall upon his release. To witness the joy and tears of people who had given so much for the cause of freedom was another blessing I will never forget.
Nelson Mandela was an inspiration to millions across the world, myself included. Some of my first political activity was at Dartmouth in 1985 protesting apartheid South Africa and the college's investments in companies doing business there. We built shanties on the green to encourage the school to divest, which it eventually did. This was a time of daily protests outside the South African embassy in DC (as well as around the world), which contributed to the imposition of economic sanctions on South Africa in 1986 that took a bite out of its economy and helped convince its business community that apartheid was unsustainable.
The effort by South Africans to liberate their country involved incredible sacrifice by hundreds of thousands of people and decades of struggle. But the fact that there was one man around whom they and the rest of the world could rally, a man who lived up to the ideals he voiced is a blessing for this world.
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