not really. that was nelson mandela speaking to nbc s tom brokaw in february of 1990, not long after he walked out of prison, following 27 years behind bars. joining me now, don gips and maya wiley, founder and president for the center of inclusion. she helped to open south africa s criminal justice initiative. and maya, what kind there s this period of time between 1999 when nelson mandela does this remarkable thing, which is to hand over power peacefully. there s many examples that come to be heads of state and don t do that. what kind of figure is he in south africa for that period of life when he is essentially retired from politics and the state that has to encounter all the challenges it does? well, he was still an incredibly important figure and we should acknowledge that in addition to just being willing to hand over power and not become a president for life or a dictator, as we ve seen,
mandela became almost a cult figure. but in the black townships of south africa, mandela was not a distant pop icon. he was the spirit behind the street fighting. he was the living symbol for township people in a struggle against evil. and when they buried their dead, the coffins were draped in the colors of mandela s outlawed anc party. and for many, he was also a symbol of evil. he should have been killed and executed 20 years ago. that was nbc news reporting back in february of 1990, two days before mandela s release from prison after 27 years. we re back with congresswoman barbara lee and danny shechter, who s author of a new book on nelson mandela. so mandela becomes this symbolic figure while in prison, and then he begins negotiations in secret, while in prison, with the apartheid regime.
decades. and so the image, the free nelson mandela image, was always him as a young man in his 40s, as he had been when he d been locked away, even as he aged decade after decade in prison. he served 27 years in prison, 18 of them at hard labor in that island cell before south africa was finally ready to give up apartness, to give up apartheid. and when fw clark was collected president of south african in 1989, it was essentially no relent. to finally, at least, start to give up the arcane and brutal racial system that south africa invented, it s hard to remember, but really, invented after world war ii, after hitler, and that they fought for for 50 years against the people that they subsu subjugated with that system. fw clark unbanned the organization. and in february of 1990, he visited then 70-year-old nelson
open enrollment ends december 7th. so now s the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare on so many, including myself. he was released from prison in february of 1990, and 23 days after he walked out of robben island, before his big world tour, i had the rare opportunity of meeting him up close and personal on march 4th. i was living in egypt at the time traveling to visit my visit who was in zimbabwe. we were on a small plane with my family when we made a stop in ethiopia where the pilot announced a special guest had come on board. he said it was mandela. at the moment i saw winnie peek around the curtain that separated us from the first class section. mandela would say hello to all
would not allow a picture to be taken of him. the free nelson mandela picture of him was the one before he was locked away. he severed 27 years in prison, 18 of them at hard labor in that island cell before south africa was ready to give aup apartness, aparthe apartheid, and when declerk was elected it was to relength, to start to give up the arcane and brutal system that south africa invented. it s hard to remember, but invented after hitler and that they fought for for 50 years against the people they subjugated with that sis tell. f.w. declerk was elected. he legalized the anc. and in february of 1990 he visited then 71 year old nelson