Thursday, March 25, 2010

Winnie Mandela


Winnie Madikizela Mandela spoke at the Alys Stephens Center on March 8, 2010 as part of a trip to Alabama commemorating the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the march from Selma to Montgomery. She is the former wife of Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned in South Africa for 27 years for sabotage. His arrest and conviction was part of his overall attempt to overthrow apartheid, apartness between races. I remember some of the violence reported on the newscasts during that era. I must admit I didn’t completely understand the reasoning behind the segregation or even why it had occurred. I remember the desegregation that occurred at my school when I began first grade and thought we were the last ones to take care of that problem. Obviously I was wrong. My history classes never got past the World War I so what I knew was from the news, which could be tainted. Ms. Mandela spoke very strong and clear. I was concerned that I would not be able to understand her accent but that was not the case. She seemed gracious and appreciative for the opportunity to visit Alabama once declaring the three words, Sweet Home Alabama. Alabama has so much history we need to tap into. It is amazing how much of it can parallel with history from other parts of the world such as South Africa. I am not for a second saying our racial history was as bad as South Africa, but in some ways it was and it was especially for the people in Alabama living it.

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