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MUHAMMAD continued from Page 22 on gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears. And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.” “One is born. One dies. The land increases.” We can plainly see that proverb is most certainly true. And now, with the worst two months of his political career behind him and the Affordable Care Act beginning to realize that its potential is larger than the online computer registration process, President Obama has stepped off into (for him) uncharted, deep waters, addressing the specter of economic inequality, head on. “I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: Making sure our economy works for every working American,” Obama said in Southeast Washington, the day before Mandela’s demise. “It’s why I ran for president. It was at the center of last year’s campaign. It drives everything I do in this office. And I know I’ve raised this issue before, and some will ask why I raise the issue again right now. I do it because the outcomes of the debates we’re having right now – whether it’s health care, or the budget, or reforming our
la and his comrades were imprisoned because they were David to the government’s Goliath against a government that dominated black lives in every sphere of their existence. We saw grotesque pictures of the thousands of men, women and children killed in South Africa, Rhodesia, Mozambique, Angola and Namibia, by the South African military, police, and mercenaries. And through it all, we heard apologists like Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Dick Cheney and corporate leaders defend a hateful and repulsive system in the name of anti-communism and the status quo. It is painful to recall that Mandela paid a steep price, languishing in different prisons for 27 years – robbing him of his freedom during the prime of life. Incarceration took him away
leon housing and financial systems continued from Page 22 – all these things will have real, practical implications for every American. “And I am convinced that the decisions we make on these issues over the next few years will determine whether or not our children will grow up in an America where opportunity is real,” Obama said. It’s almost like how Stella got her “groove” back, the Obama of old emerging, like some kind of international “community organizer,” trying to wage peace in Syria, destroying that country’s chemical weapons instead of simply destroying the country, like he did in Libya. President Obama is also – along with the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany – trying to win a deal with Iran to limit that country’s ability to produce nuclear weapons and in return, to end the economic sanctions which have crippled that society for a generation. It is said that of all the nations on The Continent, Africans in America most resemble the Africans in South Africa. Perhaps in his final three years in office President Obama will become more “Mandela-like” and finally earn the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded prematurely. Perhaps.wi
38 December 12, 2013 - December 18, 2013
Notice also, that during that speech, Mr. Mandela’s name was only mentioned once, almost in passing. “Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize - Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela - my accomplishments are slight.” Why? Because Nelson Mandela was a true revolutionary, a freedom fighter and president Obama could never align himself with that part of Mr. Mandela’s reality. It’s a great thing that Nelson Mandela became the first Black African democratically elected president of South Africa. This must also be put into context. He was not a perfect president. Many will argue that he cut a bad deal. That is not for me to judge. Before he was elected president there were approximately 4 million socially, economically, and politically disenfranchised Black South Africans. During his presidency there were millions of socially, economically, and politically disenfranchised Black South Africans, as there are still today. I do recognize that this is partially due to the fact that even as the democratically elected president of South Africa he did not control the natural resources of his country; he did not control the military, and did not control the factors that impacted its economy. That’s the reality of being the first Black president within the greater context of a white supremacist power structure. As President Obama expresses Americas condolences to the Mandela family and the people of South Africa, he should also apologize to The Washington Informer
from his family and he ended up divorcing wife Winnie Mandela, herself a stalwart in the liberation struggle. My friends and I devoured the speeches, stories and shared recollections of the man himself: regal, humble, moral, principled, a leader, dignified, a fighter, stubborn, defiant. To a young man searching for himself, I saw some of him in me and aspired to grow and evolve into a person as principled as Mandela. Mandela’s given name is “Rolihlahla,” which means “troublemaker.” So it should come as no surprise that he was so instrumental in toppling an entrenched and insidious political system, because as he noted, he got his iconoclasm honestly from a father who “possessed a proud rebelliousness (and) a stubborn sense of fairness…” The powerful final words Mandela uttered at the end of
the Rivonia treason trial in 1964, in my mind, capture the essence of the man: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” When the obituaries and accolades fade, one question remains: Will we properly honor Mandela’s legacy, slide back into complacency or fight as he did against all forms of inequality and injustice? The choice is entirely ours.wi
them for the CIA’s involvement in the initial arrest of Mr. Mandela. He should apologize to them for President Reagan’s policy of Constructive Engagement. Reagan’s vetoing legislation and blocking attempts by the United Nations to impose sanctions and to isolate South Africa. Madiba was a principled warrior. During the June 21, 1990 Town Hall Meeting in Harlem – Ken Adelman from the Institute of Contemporary Studies asked Mr. Mandela about his relationships with Yasser Arafat, Col. Gaddafi, and Fidel Castro and tried to get him to renounce his association with them. Mr. Mandela responded, “One of the mistakes many political analysts made is to think that their enemies should be our enemies. That we can’t and will never do. We are an independent organization engaged in our own struggle. Our attitude towards any country is determined by that country’s attitude toward our struggle… Yasser Arafat, Col. Gaddafi, and Fidel Castro support our struggle to the hilt. Not only with rhetoric but by placing resources at our disposal for us to win our struggle.” It’s interesting to note that in 1960 when Fidel Castro came to America he went to Harlem. Months after Madiba was released from prison he came to America and visited Harlem as well. During the same meeting Mr. Mandela also said to Henry Siegman from The American Jewish Congress “We identify with the PLO because just like ourselves they are fighting for the right of self-determination.” Madiba demonstrated in those exchanges that was not going to be bullied by outside interests and
take positions that were not based on principle and contrary to the stated mission of the ANC. Many individuals in positions of “leadership” within the African American community would be well served to follow President Mandela’s example. There’s a lot to said for and gained by sticking to principle. Facing death by hanging at his 1964 trial for treason in Pretoria, South Africa Mr. Mandela said, “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people…I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve…But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” I submit that contrary to President Obama’s observations, most people who truly understand the arc of Madiba’s life really draw strength from the example of renewal and reconciliation and resilience that Madiba made real as a principled warrior and uncompromising guerilla fighter. The revolutionary who was willing to die for the freedom of his people.wi Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the Sirisu/XM Satellite radio channel 110 call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon” Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email:wjl3us@ yahoo.com. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com © 2013 InfoWave Communications, LLC
Barrington Salmon, a senior staff writer for The Washington Informer, has been writing for 28 years.
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