The anti-apartheid icon has died, South African President Jacob Zuma announced late Thursday. Mandela was 95.
Mandela’s perseverance, even after spending decades in prison, was inspiring, said Elmon Prier, a former Middletown educator, minister and columnist.
“Nelson was a tremendous hero to the world for his ability to draw South Africans together into one nation. He spent 27 years on Robben Island making little rocks out of big rocks. And to me, that kind of character, to last that long … even after that time, he came out, dreaming of reuniting South Africa. I’m not saying today it’s completely reunited, but it’s a lot different than it was when he was incarcerated. He made a big difference,” Prier said.
The Rev. Victor Davis, who has organized Hamilton’s Martin Luther King Day marches, said, “Mandela was the recipient of the most overt racism, but in spite of that, he fought back, and he reached out to persons who were not of his clan … He had a charisma and a life story. He could not only tell you that story, but he lived that story and he persevered.”
Moreover, Mandela’s story is not over, in that his work is not done, Prier said.
“I think we can learn that this earth or this space we live in is big enough for all of us to get along regardless of our skin color. The race issue is still very much alive, not only in South Africa, but in America. Everything we’re dealing with somehow or other is connected to race. And if we say it isn’t, we’re not looking at it as it is. We still have that kind of mindset that we need to do away with… all of those things are going to be necessary in the future for America to be what we know it can be,” he said.
Maurice Maxwell, the executive director of Family Service of Middletown, said Mandela “was an individual who represented ultimate peace among communities and nations in the world. Unless we have a person to step into his shoes to continue the work that he did, we could slide back a bit. Being conscientious and aware and really making strides toward nations working together and being peaceful and supportive to one another.”
For the Rev. Dennis Kidd of Hamilton’s Front Street Church of God, what stood out about Mandela was his compassion and willingness to work even with those who had oppressed him.
“He had not only consummate integrity, but he was an honest man. He was honest with himself, and with his people and the powers that be. And he had a very forgiving attitude. He forgave and did not hold grudges against people. He realized you have to release. If he didn’t forgive, that country would be torn apart. Even when he was in prison, he forgave, and he passed that down to his people,” Kidd said.
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