By Peter Weiss
Everyone
seems to agree that Nelson Mandela, like Martin Luther King Jr., is one of the
great figures not only of the 20th century
but, indeed, of the long trail of history. Here are three lessons we can learn
from his amazing life:
Lesson 1: There
are times when freedom fighters have to fight.
In 1955,
when Mandela was beginning to assume a leadership role in the African National
Congress, that organization adopted the Freedom Charter, calling for a united
South Africa, with equal rights and security for all, black and white.
It
wasn’t until the white regime manifested its brutal opposition to the Charter,
through such events as the Sharpeville massacre of 1961, that anti-apartheid
activists, including Mandela, began seriously to engage in acts of sabotage
which earned them the designation of “terrorist,” both in South Africa and in
the United States.
Half a
century later, Mandela the terrorist would receive the U.S. Medal of Freedom
from, of all people, George W. Bush.
Lesson 2:
Leadership takes more than words and ideas.
When
Mandela emerged a free man after 27 years in prison, South Africa was in
turmoil and many, including Mandela’s wife Winnie, advocated continuing
violence as the road to power. Mandela, sensing that the time had come for
achieving victory through negotiation, put his foot down against those whose
slogan was “we fight.”
Winning
the battle against violence may have been a bigger accomplishment than winning
power through negotiation. In fact, the first victory made the second possible.
Lesson 3: One
man alone can’t make a revolution.
Mandela
had the foresight to surround himself with a cadre of comrades, as they called
themselves, who shared his vision and his tactics and each of whom was a
historic figure in its own right: Oliver Tambo, Mandela’s law partner, who was
dispatched to the outside world to mobilize support for the ANC; Walter Sisulu,
journalist, union leader, and Deputy President of the ANC, who spent 25 years
as Mandela’s fellow prisoner on Robben Island; and Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
whose moral authority continues to extend beyond the borders of South Africa.
There
were whites as well: Albie Sachs, the victim of an assassination attempt which
cost him an arm, later appointed a justice on South Africa’s Constitutional
Court; Joe Slovo, head of the South African Communist Party; Helen Suzman,
member of parliament and lifelong anti-apartheid activist.
Madiba
is gone. If his spirit does not endure we will only have ourselves to blame.
Peter
Weiss is the former president of the American Committee on Africa. Distributed via
OtherWords (OtherWords.org)