forgiveness, pacifism, charity, discrimination

nelson mandela dies at age 95
1 Almost two decades have passed since the end of legalized racial segregation in South Africa, yet the abolition of apartheid remains the biggest legacy of Nelson Mandela.

2 South Africa continued to enforce racial division, denying blacks the right to vote, until Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 allowed him to begin negotiations with then-president Frederik Willem de Klerk. Apartheid ended with the arrival of multi-racial elections in 1994.

3 This transformation was achieved almost entirely peacefully despite the country’s long history of racial violence and a brutal police force.

4 The 1993 assassination of ANC figurehead Chris Hani by right-wing white extremists heightened fears that the country was destined for a racial bloodbath, but Mandela issued an appeal: “Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for – the freedom of all of us.”

5 The renunciation of violence was one of the defining moments of the political process, and earned Mandela and de Klerk the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

6 The transition formally turned South Africa into a democracy

7 In doing so, South Africa also lost its global pariah status. Apartheid had been punished by sanctions including a trade embargo and a ban on direct flights to dozens of countries, like the United States.

8 In his inauguration speech in 1994, Mandela heralded the country’s re-entry onto the world stage, saying it should become “a rainbow nation” that would never again be seen as “the skunk of the world.”

9 Mandela’s biggest influence on the new South Africa was his personal determination that anger over the crimes of the past, including his 27 years as a political prisoner, should not motivate future laws and actions. Key to this was his 1995 establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that investigated historic human rights violations and gave vent to grievances.

10 Mandela’s other key legacy is his extensive charitable work, including the creation of the Nelson Mandela Foundation,  the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and 46664 – the HIV-AIDS initiative named after his prison number.

11 In 2009, the United Nations declared that July 18, Mandela’s birthday, would be a worldwide day of community service known as Nelson Mandela International Day.