By Simone Boyd
Nelson Mandela Day, celebrated on July 18, is a global observance of Mandela’s life and legacy. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Mandela’s (also known by his Xhosa clan name “Madiba”) inauguration as South Africa’s first Black president and commemorates Mandela becoming an honorary Howard University graduate during the institution’s 126th Commencement Convocation in 1994.
In celebrating the 30th anniversary of Mandela’s inauguration, we remember his unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and freedom. Mandela Day calls on individuals, communities, and organizations worldwide to reflect on his values and principles and positively impact their own communities.
Both an anti-apartheid activist and leader, Mandela has long been regarded as a staple in the history of the fight for freedom for all people. In his novel “Conversations with Myself,” Mandela wrote, “It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.”
Mandela was frequently arrested for his steadfast resistance to South African apartheid. In 1962, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his activism, ultimately spending 27 years in confinement. His eventual release in 1990 proved pivotal in the fight against apartheid, leading to its dismantling and the creation of a newly democratic South Africa.
In 1994, four years after Mandela’s release from prison, Howard University bestowed him an honorary doctorate of laws degree. In his ensuing speech, Mandela shared his sentiments on education’s increasing importance and Howard University’s role as a global leader.
“The importance of education needs no argument before members of Howard University, which played so important a role in the sons and daughters of former slaves. Its former graduates have made a distinguished contribution to national life in the fields of medicine, politics, business and the arts, helping to open the way for black people to play their rightful role in the national life of the United States,” Mandela said. “Among graduates of this University are also to be found young South Africans who are a real asset in our efforts to transform our society.”
Benjamin Talton, Ph.D. (B.A. ’96), the current director of Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC), recalled a 1990 visit to Harlem’s Africa Square – a stop along Mandela’s international political tour – where a 16-year-old Talton awaited his arrival a mere four months after his release from prison.
“The sun was going down when the icons of African liberation arrived and approached the front of the stage, clenched right fists raised. The first couple of African nationalism stood smiling before the throng of adoring African Americans,” Talton wrote. “We cheered with pride as Winnie hugged pan-Africanist and Harlem activist Queen Mother Moore, who was on stage with business leader Percy Sutton, pan-Africanist activist Elombe Brath, rapper Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, and a few others who I either did not recognize or do not recall.”
Today, Howard University continues to uplift Mandela’s legacy through its unwavering commitment to documenting history, the pursuit of education, and its international activism particularly through the MSRC, the largest and most comprehensive repository of books, documents, and ephemera on the global Black experience. The center prepares and empowers students to be storytellers of history with the capacity to affect change both domestically and abroad.