Rest in peace, Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013

My morning newspaper describes Nelson Mandela as a pacifist, which he was not.  He rejected hatred, but not armed struggle.  His achievement was that he was a leader of a mass movement which, unlike so many terrorist and “liberation” struggles of his day and ours,  fought successfully for freedom and democracy.

South Africa today is a deeply troubled country, with a high crime rate and extremes of rich and poor, but still a free country that is hugely better off than under the white supremacist oligarchy.

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Here are links to articles on Nelson Mandela’s legacy.

We Want Equal Political Rights, Nelson Mandela’s statement to the court during his trial in 1964.

Nelson Mandela Is Dead by Yves Smith.

Mandela Embodied the Victories and Failures of the South African Liberation Struggle by Glen Ford of the Black Agenda Report.

Mandela Was No Care Bear by Ryan Cooper for The Washington Monthly.

Nelson Mandela, Champion of Freedom by Jan Puhl for Spiegel Online.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. government supported the white South African regime as an ally against Communism.  Nelson Mandela was officially designated as a terrorist.  Only in 1986, just four years before the release of Mandela from prison and the start of negotiations to end apartheid, did the United States impose economic sanctions on South Africa, and this was done by the Democratic Congress over President Reagan’s veto.

Apartheid’s Useful Idiots by Ta-Nehisi Coates for The Atlantic Monthly.

Hat tip for the photo and quote to The BRAD BLOG.

Tags: Armed Struggle, Nelson Mandela, Nonviolent struggle, South Africa