Black Journalists React to Mandela Coverage
By Zenitha Prince AFRO Senior Correspondent
Black journalists who covered South Africa’s antiapartheid movement had both praise and censure for the mainstream media’s coverage of Nelson Mandela since his death on Dec. 5, according to a survey conducted by Richard Prince’s Journal-isms. For American journalists of color who covered the African nation’s liberation struggle, Mandela’s release from prison and his historic election as president, it was a challenge to maintain objectivity. “For black journalists, covering South Africa and Mandela was always a tricky balancing act, because for many—like me—he was an icon before I was ever a journalist, and the antiapartheid struggle in South Africa was the first political cause I cared about while in college,” said Keith B. Richburg, a former Washington Post foreign editor who was in South Africa before and after Mandela’s election. “How do you ‘objectively’ cover the end of apartheid when you—like me—had gone to divestment rallies in college and played ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ at house parties?” Perhaps, because of that inherent racial connection, some of the six journalists who responded—all AfricanAmerican men—were particularly sensitive about mainstream media’s coverage of Mandela’s death. For example, some criticized the media for not painting a full picture of “Madiba,” as Mandela was known among his people, and the African National Congress’ struggle for freedom. Sunni Khalid, a freelance broadcast journalist, covered stories in 1989, just before Mandela was released from prison after three decades; in November 1992; and in 1994, when Mandela was elected president. His criticism of the mainstream media’s coverage of Mandela and the Black South African freedom struggle began back then. “I got sick and damned tired of hearing white commentators talk about their fears that Mandela would emerge from prison and call for a racial bloodbath,” he told Prince via e-mail. “That was never Madiba’s option, nor the ANC’s. They consistently preached full equality, which scared both white Americans and white South Africans.” This time around, he said, several news reports made some “egregious errors.” “The CNN stuff was the worst, describing Madiba in [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] terms as a ‘man of peace!’” Khalid said. “For chrissakes, he was imprisoned because he took up arms against the government! And he refused his release several times because he would not renounce the armed struggle. When he was released, it was because [South African President F.W.] De Klerk agreed to HIS terms, elections, freeing political prisoners and unbanning of the ANC [African National
Congress], PAC [Pan Africanist Congress] and others.” Jon Jeter, author of Flat Broke in the Free Market: How Globalization Fleeced Working People, and a Post correspondent in South Africa from 1999 to 2002, said he
“I hold Mandela in high esteem but there is no doubt that many people believe that Mandela and the ANC betrayed South Africa’s black and brown people, leaving them materially worse off than they were during apartheid. What mainstream outlet explored that very real tension….? “What corporate news outlets have explored Mandela’s enthusiastic support of the B. Richburg Palestinian liberation movement, or his public contempt for the Israeli occupation?” Jeter continued. Still, some Black journalists were pleased with both the breadth and depth of the news media’s coverage of the iconic leader’s death. Sam Fulwood III, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who covered South Africa for the Baltimore Sun, said the coverage mirrored the “celebratory” nature of the funerals of slain activists which he witnessed during his reporting. “…I think our understanding of South Africa was heightened during the period that Mandela was president and the coverage of the country tracked toward the hope and optimism. I sensed some of that in the coverage of the funeral,” he told Prince.
“How do you ‘objectively’ cover the end of apartheid when you—like me—had gone to divestment rallies in college and played ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ at house parties?” – Keith has paid little attention to mainstream American news coverage since it was told from a “white supremacist view,” which makes the stories “neither true nor interesting.” “Because white supremacy is nothing more than a form of self-adoration, news stories of Mandela’s passing… emphasize his ‘forgiveness’ of white people, at the expense of what he—and the ANC—meant to the struggle of people worldwide to emancipate themselves from racist, colonial oppression,” Jeter said. “[Mandela] has far more in common with Malcolm X and Fidel Castro than he does Barack Obama.” Jeter added that most news organizations ignored some of the more controversial aspects of Mandela’s philosophy and history.
December 21, 2013 - December 27, 2013, The Afro-American
Mandela’s Burial
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The funeral followed a memorial service Dec. 8 and three days of Mandela lying in state in Pretoria. His body was viewed by more than 100,000 people. Because of long lines and hours too short for the occasion, at least twice as many people might have viewed the body if they had been given the opportunity. After a final ceremony Dec. 14 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Mandela’s coffin was flown to Mthatha, where it was met by a military escort and greeted by locals with three shouts of “Aaah! Dalibhung,” a reference to Dalibhunga, the name given to Mandela at 16 upon being initiated into adulthood. His remains were transported to Quna, 37 miles away. There, military officials handed them over to village elders. The South African flag that draped his coffin was replaced with a lion skin, a traditional symbol of the Xhosa people. Tribal leaders and men in his family held a private vigil at dusk in keeping with traditions The casket of Mandela’s Thembu procession clan. His remains stayed in his bedroom throughout the night, overlooking his future grave site. The Dec. 15 event was an all Africa affair. “As your journey ends today, ours must continue in earnest,” said President Zuma, who delivered the eulogy with Mandela’s flagdraped casket resting in front of him. “One thing we can assure you today, Tata, as you take your final steps, is that South Africa will continue to rise. We pledge to take your vision forward.” As the first president elected with the participation of Black voters, Mandela is considered the father of the country, hence the
numerous references to “Tata,” which means father. He is also referred to as Madiba, his clan name. Malawian President Joyce Banda praised Mandela at the funeral as an ideal leader. “Leadership is about falling in love with the people you serve and about people falling in love with you. It is about serving the people selflessly with sacrifice and a need to put good ahead of personal interest.” Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s first postcolonial president, praised Mandela as “South Africa’s greatest son.” When African National Congress (ANC) Deputy President Cryil Ramaphosa tried to shorten Kaunda’s speech by slipping him a note, the former president told the audience, “This boy is trying to control me. He doesn’t know that I fought the Boers.” Uncontrolled, Kaunda continued, “As we go on without Madiba, he’s no more in terms of his life, but he is still with our leaders. His lessons Photo by NNPA remain with us, to guide us. Remember, Madiba also told us to love our neighbors as you love yourself.” Only 450 people, most of them international leaders and high-ranking ANC officials, were allowed to attend the – President Zuma burial. Helicopters adorned with South African flags hovered above. About a dozen Pilatus PC-7 aircrafts streaked across the clear skies in formation. South African National Defense Force Chaplain Rev. Monwabisi Jamangile prayed, saying: “Yours was truly a long walk to freedom and now you have achieved the ultimate freedom in the bosom of your leader, God Almighty.” See more at afro.com.
“One thing we can assure you today, Tata, as you take your final steps, is that South Africa will continue to rise. We pledge to take your vision forward.”
Prince George’s Approves New Minimum Wage By Courtney Jacobs AFRO Staff Writer Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III Dec. 17 signed a bill to raise the minimum wage in the county to $11.50 an hour by 2017. The bill cleared the council Nov. 27 without opposition. Prince George’s County joined its counterparts in neighboring Montgomery County in approving a measure to increase the minimum wage for the first time since 2009 to $11.50 an hour by 2017 from the current $7.25 an hour. The action is part of a drive by local lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties to coordinate the establishment of what the elected officials refer to as a “regional minimum wage.” The Montgomery County Council cleared a similar bill Nov. 26. At the state and federal minimum wage rate, a worker who earns $7.25 an hour has an income--$ 15,000 annually-- putting them below the $22,500 annual income level that federal officials have set as the poverty level for a family of four. “The thing about doing this as a region is sending the signal to the federal government, and to states everywhere, that we really need the federal government to raise the minimum wage,” Baker said in an interview. “I think it creates some serious momentum,” Prince George’s County Council Chair Mel Franklin told the AFRO. “President Obama is for it and much of the Congress is for it. We just need to get the Republican members of the House to do what’s right for the working families of this country and raise the minimum wage. I do think today is going to add momentum on a state and federal level.”
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