FORUM
Finally!! They freed Mandela
Nicole
Lee
? ? ?
? Guest
Columnist
Though the world celebrated
in late June, this July 18. Nelson
Mandela will turn 90. For any
human being, reaching the age
of 90 is a monumental feat. For
a man who was imprisoned for
almost 30 years, it is virtiftnly a
miracle.
Mandela is a worldwide
symbol for freedom. A Nobel
Prize winner and the first presi
dent of a multi-racial democrat
ic South Africa, he has been a
constant warrior in the pursuit of
truth and justice.
Yet, the U.S. government
did not take him off the terror
watch list until June 27, 2008.
Yes. The U.S. government con
sidered Nelson Mandela and the
freedom fighters of the African
National Congress terrorist until
June 27th of this year.
In and out of office,
Mandela has spoken truth to
power and worked tirelessly to
resolve conflicts within the
African , continent. Whether in
leading the struggle against
apartheid regime or champi
oning the cause of people with
HIV/AIDS. Mandela has consis
tently challenged the great pow
ers of theglobe. For him, leader
ship means representing the
poor and disenfranchised, not
the rich and connected.
I like talking with school
aged children about Nelson
Mandela. Their faces light up as
I talk about his presidency and
the values of multiculturalism.
For them, Mandela has always
been a hero. They were not
PRNews Image '
The legendary Nelson Mandela.
exposed to the propaganda we
were dealt prior to a free South
Africa.
Remember the good/bad ol'
days? The Reagan era?
Countries were categorized
based on their allegiance to one
Super Power (the U.S.) or the
other (Soviet Union), while
African countries and their peo
ple were just pawns in the Cold
War chess game.
Mandela played a key role
within the African National
Congress (ANC) and Umkhonto
we Sizwe, its armed wing
formed in 1960 after the
Sharpville Massacre. The ANC
party, now the majority party in
South Africa, was banned by the
apartheid government in 1960,
remaining an outcast political
party until 1990.
For decades. Nelson
Mandela and high level govern
ment officials from the ANC
party have remained on the US
terror watch list. Stricter legal
measures put into place after
9/11 solidified the ANC's cate
gorization as a terrorist organi
zation, and even required the
South African ambassador to the
U.S. to obtain special permis
sion to enter the U.S. Certainly
the Reagan and Bush I
Administrations had no love for
the Southern African Liberation
movements.
Reagan's constructive
engagement policy was a com
plete rase to allow 'business as
usual' in apartheid South Africa.
As late as 2000, Dick Cheney,
who was in the Senate at the
time, defended his vote against
economic sanctions on the
apartheid regime.
But recently Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and
officials in the Justice
Department have all vocalized
their support for his removal and
now, the 148th session of
Congress has worked to ensure
that the U.S. is now on the right
side of history. Finally!
On June 27, 2008, the U.S.
Senate passed legislation to pro
tect ANC members from , being
denied visas to enter the Dnited
States.
According to reports, for
years the Senate based its deci
sion on the ANC members' anti
apartheid activities. In passing
HR 5690, we see that the arcane ?
and unfair characterizations of
the ANC members has given
way to a more fair and unbiased
view towards their ^anti
apartheid activities.
io oe sure, state sponsored
violence and armed attacks
against black citizens were a
part of apartheid South Africa.
But far too often, those
struggling for freedom are
demonized as an excuse to con
tinue the repression. Freedom
fighters looked like terrorists
from the perspective of an evil
empire, and no doubt this was
true in South Africa.
Wounds are still healing K
from this painful period in South '
African history and Mandela
has played a vital role in the
healing process.
For decades, Mandela has
shown us that no obstacle is too
great in the quest for fairness
and freedom. He has fceen a
shining beacon for liberation
movements around the world,
and stands shoulders above
most of the men and women ,
who claim to be the voicfi of the
people. He was able to forgive
his oppressors while leading a
revolutionary movement, and
we have finally taken the first
step towards showing him the
respect his legacy of visionary
sacrifice deserves.
Nicole C. Lee is the
Executive Director of
Trans Africa Forum.
Juneteenth & the n-word
H. Lewis
Smith
Guest
Columnist
Juneteenth has come and
gorte, but while the scent of,,
this day of celebration still
lingers fresh in our noses and
sits atop our foremost thoughts,
now is the most opportune time
to pause and reflect on the
meaning and significance of
this great occasion. Most cer
tainly, Juneteenth is the oldest
known celebration marking the
"official" end of slavery ?
when, on June 19, 1865, the
enslaved individuals of
Galveston, Texas, were the last
to be informed of the
Emancipation Proclamation
signed in 1863.
Enough can't be said for
the tremendous efforts put
forth in acknowledging and
giving much-deserved recogni
tion to the tremendous travails,
struggles and sacrifices experi
enced by our subjugated ances
tors.
However, there does seem
to have been one lacking fac
tor: We are allowing a golden
opportunity to slip by in not
using this date to remind .pro
ponents of the n-word as to
why the term needs to be
banned, abolished from the
vocabulary of all black African
Americans, never again to flow
from the lips of blacks towards
other blacks ? to be buried for
ever.
Before we were humanized,
we were categorized as
"n**gers": a sub-human,
three-fifths of a human being.
Thus, this categorizing justi
fied the dehumanizing,
butchering and slaughtering of
our ancestors. They were
looked upon as innately inferi
or?a thing to be despised and
disrespected; branded as bes
tial and savage, fit by nature
for involuntary servitude; and
considered ordained by God
Himself for perpetual enslave
ment.
Proponents of the n-word
are unknowingly spitting on
the graves of their ancestors,
slapping them in the face by
defiling their sacred memories
through embracing a word that
embedded terror, fear, and total
and complete chaos into their
hearts and minds.
On Juneteenth, I heard one
young man holler to another,
"Happy n**ger day" in a jovial
tone. When I heard the young
man make this comment, a fire
bolt of disgust boomeranged
from point to point throughout
my body. I was not complete
ly removed by the fact that he
used the term, although that
was a fast-following second
point of contempt, my primary
issue was the fact that he could
refer to such a day that ear
marks almost four hundred
years of struggle and scorn as
if it's okay and acceptable.
No race of people on the
face of this earth fit the n-word
description ? nor has there
ever been, and for any black
person who finds this term
acceptable to themselves and
their progenitors is nothing
short of certifying that the
brainwashing job the white
world perpetuated on the
minds of many members of the
black race was a resounding
success.
Embracing the n-word is
comparable to supporting and
sanctioning all the brutal beat
ings, raping, slaughtering,
butchering and heinous killings
carried out on our subjugated
forefathers. For every lash of
flagrant punishment? physical
and mental? struck upon our
progenitors' backs, for every
rope of hate looped around
their necks, for every woman
and child unrightfully violated
and molested, for each man
mercilessly sodomized with
hot pokers, and to each and
every man and woman burned
and boiled to the core while
still breathing, proponents who
have embraced the n-word
have unknowingly and by
proxy placed their stamp of
approval on all of these malev
olent and heinous acts.
Clearly, there are many
who may support and partici
pate in Juneteenth celebrations,
yet think nothing of using the
n-word. In such an instance,
that act is nothing more than an
effrontery to the hallowed and
revered memories of our fore
fathers. And. the greatest trav
esty of all: We acknowledge
and celebrate Juneteenth, June
19, 1865, as the date that the
last of the slaves were finally
set FREE. But yet,' 143 years
later, we are still mentally
enslaved to a word that was a
symbol of oppression, defile
ment, inferiority, degradation,
and immorality ? N**GER.
Juneteenth, with aTl that it
signifies, is an excellent time
to demonstrate and rejoice in
our true FREEDOM? or, on
the contrary, exhibit our con
tinued acceptance of mental
ENSLAVEMENT. We have a
full year to reflect on this enig
ma and determine how to best
proceed toward its resolve.
Juneteenth is a day to reflect on
the memories of our ancestors,
embody the spirit of persever
ance and victory, and do all
that we can to walk in the path
of dignity, respect, and honor
our forefathers dreamed of,
relentlessly fought and gave
their lives for. How will you
celebrate your next
Jtffieteenth?
H. Lewis Smith is the
founder and president of the
United Voices for a Common
Cause, Inc., and author of
"Bury that Sucka: A
Scandalous Love Affair with
the N-Word." Visit UVCC
online at
http://www.theunitedvoices.co
m
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