Image courtesy of Mike Licht's Flickr page - Mandela: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/11246081246/in/photolist-i8M79w-783Qb3-dypknq-aebFHs-vKUcoH-iaWBmh-qyUKK4-4bFzK5-oMsHwi-ctkx4C-oDHdTk-oCpKQb-pVEpx8-im7ddp-idRMAB-i7RkYv-i7RksF-idRscu-i7QXrj-58Cdp3-j9ywLu-58CcRj-idRzwY-58CdEC-jK7iVv-iaYhKh-dZMmc4-88r186-8f6mSX-pAzxxQ-im7y5s-i7ZLPE-4xZucZ-SjJ1nC-fTshrD-7qiKHK-7Q3yw1-om9jNB-im7n1o-akDPQh-p4XwSp-88uue7-DYgeKX-5UG1Sc-6Fx9iZ-fckFLv-etvRZ7-itz23a-i5qLCA-dvy8d9
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Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
With Winnie Mandela having just recently died, it has made me think back to the late spring/early summer of 1990 (June 21st, to be precise), when I took a day off from school to go see the Mandelas when they visited New York. This was just a few months after Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
Those felt like exciting times to me. A lot was changing in the world, and those changes seemed mostly (but certainly not exclusively) positive. A lot had happened in 1989, and the one really bad thing that I remember that year was the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which put a brutal end to what had seemed to be a promising youthful movement towards greater democracy in China earlier in the year. But the Soviet Union was reforming, as Gorbachev was opening the doors to the winds of change with glastnost and perestroika. In the fall of 1989, of course, the Berlin Wall came down. This had seemed to be the physical embodiment of the harshness of the Cold War, the ugly face of a virtual scar keeping a world city divided, quite literally. But it came down, and so began a largely peaceful revolution that swept across eastern Europe and ended Soviet/Communist dominance there.
Then, early in 1990, new South Africa President F.W. DeKlerk declared that apartheid had failed, and that it should be dismantled. He announced that the reform process would begin, and he ended the abolition of political dissent, including the famous African National Congress (ANC), the primary opposition to the white minority government of apartheid South Africa during that time. He also released all political prisoners, including the most famous one, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the ANC, and the most famous voice and face of opposition to apartheid. Although this did not end legal racism in the country, it did herald a new era, where it was commonly accepted that reform would indeed come. Ultimately, of course, this led to the first multiracial elections in South Africa in 1994, which Mandela ultimately won. That government finally took power in April of 1994, ending the last, but biggest, vestige of the apartheid era when the white minority government officially gave up the reins of power.
So as spring turned to summer in 1990, the world actually seemed to be generally heading in a more promising direction. It seemed that with all of these peaceful changes, anything was possible.
Of course, I was much younger, and more naive. I had heard the phrase "the more things change, the more they stay the same" before, but still believed that real change was possible. Indeed, a lot did change, and for the most part, it was positive. In fact, at the time, it seemed that about the only place where either nothing, or very little, ever seemed to change was right here in the United States. Sure, George W. Bush had replaced Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office, but he carried things out in much the same way. I remember him rejecting the environmental conference hopes in Rio in 1992, and how he popular he was following the first Gulf War. But the national debt rose dramatically under him, and for very little reason, seemingly. That, and the denial of problems with the economy, being unprepared to admit that the economy was in a recession, likely was what caused what had once seemed an improbable election loss in November of 1992.
But I digress.
Getting back to that day when I went to see the Mandelas as they visited New York City, on June 22, 1990. It was a beautiful day, and there was a positive overall feel, or at least it seemed to my young and likely impressionable mind. There was enthusiasm for all of the wild changes that we had seen in recent months, and so there was hope that some positive changes towards a better world were indeed happening. Eastern Europe was now largely free of Soviet dominance, the Soviet Union itself was opening up and felt less threatening, and South Africa was ending it's longstanding occupation of Namibia, or South West Africa as it was still called then. And now, apartheid was well on it's way out in South Africa itself. It was still there, still clinging on by some fearful whites. But most of the whites had elected to go ahead with the reform process, and to take the first serious steps towards reforming and effectively ending official, state-sanctioned segregation there.
In his address before the United Nations on that day, Mandela urged every nation not to end sanctions imposed on South Africa. That would send the wrong message to those who still hoped to cling to the last vestiges of the apartheid system there. Remember, despite a majority of whites having voted for reform, there was still a good third of the white population who were adamantly opposed to these reforms, or any loosening of the existing apartheid system. This is what Mandela said:
''Nothing that has happened in South Africa calls for a revision of the position that this organization has taken,'' Mr. Mandela told the world body. ''The sanctions that have been imposed by the United Nations and by individual governments should remain in place.''
He hoped, he said, that no country would ease sanctions, creating ''any situation in which those who are opposed to change in our country find encouragement to resist change.''
Someone had a radio, and so some of us got to listen to what Mandela was telling the assembled diplomats in the United Nations General Council. But mostly, there was a positive, almost celebratory feel on that day. There were quite a few distractions, too. I remember looking to my right, way from the United Nations grounds, and suddenly seeing someone with crazy hair, who looked an awful lot like Don King. Then, I saw Mike Tyson, considerably shorter, right next to him. It was a bit difficult to recognize him at first, because his hulking muscles were hidden beneath a very dignified looking suit. Obviously, they were there to visit with Nelson Mandela, as he was a former boxer himself, and still a fan of the sport. And, of course, there was Winnie Mandela, who again, simply walked out of the United Nations grounds, and walked along a street that I was on. I don't remember how close I got to her, because again, there was an entourage of people. But I saw her very clearly. Also, there were some souvenirs that I got. Mostly pins, although I might, or might not, have gotten a t-shirt. Honestly, I cannot remember anymore, although at the time, I swore I would never forget. I still have a couple of the buttons/pins somewhere as well, although it slipped my mind to include images of them in this particular blog entry. Perhaps when the chance presents itself, I will return to this post and add pictures of them.
Looking back, I wish that I had gone either the day before, or perhaps when he actually went to Yankees Stadium. It would have been awesome to have gotten more than a fleeting glimpse, although I still am glad to have been there, to have participated in that event. My mom still takes pride in that fact, and it was with her that I went on that day in the first place, as she at the time still worked a job in the city. So, we went together, taking the bus.
It was a great memory, and one that I still recall with fondness. Again, it was a different time, and at the risk of sounding corny or naive, it felt like a more hopeful, promising time. I still sometimes watch the videos that I had back then, of Mandela's release from the prison, and of his visit to the United States, as well as some of the videos of eastern Europe breaking free. There are even some old news clips that I discovered on an old VHS tape, since converted to DVD, which showed some of the major news stories in early 1990, just as F. W. DeKlerk was announcing that apartheid had failed and needed to end, and that he would be releasing political prisoners. Somewhere, also, there are some old newspapers and clippings of articles, as well, which I really need to find and keep altogether.
What a day, and what great memories!
Here are some articles that helped trigger my memory, which really helps when you are trying to go down memory lane. The last one, a New York Times article by John Kifner dated June 23, 1990, is where I got the Mandela quotes from, as it rehashed the events of the previous day (the day when I went to the city to see the Mandelas). The other one, on top, was an article recounting Mandela's visit to the United States, just four months and change following his official release from imprisonment. Enjoy!
Nelson Mandela Comes to America BY JESSE GREENSPAN // DECEMBER 9, 2013
https://www.history.com/news/nelson-mandela-comes-to-america
Getting back to that day when I went to see the Mandelas as they visited New York City, on June 22, 1990. It was a beautiful day, and there was a positive overall feel, or at least it seemed to my young and likely impressionable mind. There was enthusiasm for all of the wild changes that we had seen in recent months, and so there was hope that some positive changes towards a better world were indeed happening. Eastern Europe was now largely free of Soviet dominance, the Soviet Union itself was opening up and felt less threatening, and South Africa was ending it's longstanding occupation of Namibia, or South West Africa as it was still called then. And now, apartheid was well on it's way out in South Africa itself. It was still there, still clinging on by some fearful whites. But most of the whites had elected to go ahead with the reform process, and to take the first serious steps towards reforming and effectively ending official, state-sanctioned segregation there.
In his address before the United Nations on that day, Mandela urged every nation not to end sanctions imposed on South Africa. That would send the wrong message to those who still hoped to cling to the last vestiges of the apartheid system there. Remember, despite a majority of whites having voted for reform, there was still a good third of the white population who were adamantly opposed to these reforms, or any loosening of the existing apartheid system. This is what Mandela said:
''Nothing that has happened in South Africa calls for a revision of the position that this organization has taken,'' Mr. Mandela told the world body. ''The sanctions that have been imposed by the United Nations and by individual governments should remain in place.''
He hoped, he said, that no country would ease sanctions, creating ''any situation in which those who are opposed to change in our country find encouragement to resist change.''
Someone had a radio, and so some of us got to listen to what Mandela was telling the assembled diplomats in the United Nations General Council. But mostly, there was a positive, almost celebratory feel on that day. There were quite a few distractions, too. I remember looking to my right, way from the United Nations grounds, and suddenly seeing someone with crazy hair, who looked an awful lot like Don King. Then, I saw Mike Tyson, considerably shorter, right next to him. It was a bit difficult to recognize him at first, because his hulking muscles were hidden beneath a very dignified looking suit. Obviously, they were there to visit with Nelson Mandela, as he was a former boxer himself, and still a fan of the sport. And, of course, there was Winnie Mandela, who again, simply walked out of the United Nations grounds, and walked along a street that I was on. I don't remember how close I got to her, because again, there was an entourage of people. But I saw her very clearly. Also, there were some souvenirs that I got. Mostly pins, although I might, or might not, have gotten a t-shirt. Honestly, I cannot remember anymore, although at the time, I swore I would never forget. I still have a couple of the buttons/pins somewhere as well, although it slipped my mind to include images of them in this particular blog entry. Perhaps when the chance presents itself, I will return to this post and add pictures of them.
Looking back, I wish that I had gone either the day before, or perhaps when he actually went to Yankees Stadium. It would have been awesome to have gotten more than a fleeting glimpse, although I still am glad to have been there, to have participated in that event. My mom still takes pride in that fact, and it was with her that I went on that day in the first place, as she at the time still worked a job in the city. So, we went together, taking the bus.
It was a great memory, and one that I still recall with fondness. Again, it was a different time, and at the risk of sounding corny or naive, it felt like a more hopeful, promising time. I still sometimes watch the videos that I had back then, of Mandela's release from the prison, and of his visit to the United States, as well as some of the videos of eastern Europe breaking free. There are even some old news clips that I discovered on an old VHS tape, since converted to DVD, which showed some of the major news stories in early 1990, just as F. W. DeKlerk was announcing that apartheid had failed and needed to end, and that he would be releasing political prisoners. Somewhere, also, there are some old newspapers and clippings of articles, as well, which I really need to find and keep altogether.
What a day, and what great memories!
Here are some articles that helped trigger my memory, which really helps when you are trying to go down memory lane. The last one, a New York Times article by John Kifner dated June 23, 1990, is where I got the Mandela quotes from, as it rehashed the events of the previous day (the day when I went to the city to see the Mandelas). The other one, on top, was an article recounting Mandela's visit to the United States, just four months and change following his official release from imprisonment. Enjoy!
Nelson Mandela Comes to America BY JESSE GREENSPAN // DECEMBER 9, 2013
https://www.history.com/news/nelson-mandela-comes-to-america
The Mandela Visit; Mandela Gets an Emotional New York City Welcome by John Kifner, June 21, 1990:
The Mandela Visit; Mandela Backs Sanctions And Meets U.S. Executives by John Kifner, June 23, 1990:
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