By Robert G. Miller

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the word awesome as expressive of awe, terrific and extraordinary. But, in layman's language, awesome can best be described by two words: Nelson Mandela.

Arguably one of the most recognizable men on the planet, the President Emeritus of the Republic of South Africa had a three-fold purpose in capping a two-day visit to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on May 12 as the commencement speaker for Southern University's Class of 2000. The day before, Mandela had a double treat when Southern named its School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs after him in a morning ceremony. Later that evening, he received honorary doctoral degrees from Southern and Louisiana State University at a fund-raising banquet at the Radisson Hotel in his honor with proceeds earmarked for the Nelson Mandela Foundation Children's Fund. This marked the first time two universities have awarded honorary doctoral degrees simultaneously.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the man who battled South African apartheid and after a long imprisonment eventually became that nation's president, had an answer for those asking  how important it was to have a building named after him on Southern's campus. He said "the fact that I'm here at this naming ceremony is one of the most upstanding testimonies of what this university means to the developing world." As Mandela spoke to over 1,000 spectators at this event, he was obviously very happy. During a performance by a group of Nigerian dancers, the 81-year-old statesman popped up from his seat and began to dance. Cheers sprang from the crowd as he later remarked "the Nigerian dancers reminded me of some of the happiest moments of my life."

Last year, when Southern faculty members first discussed a building name, someone mentioned the name of Winston Churchill, but that didn't elicit much reaction. However, when Mandela's name was suggested, everyone jumped on board. Leon Tarver, president of the Southern University System, immediately embraced the idea and shepherded the name change through the approval process because his faculty associated Mandela's name with "courage, endurance, guts, stubborn determination to survive overwhelming odds, fairness and, above all, forgiveness." As Southern University strengthens its bond with Mandela, it's also strengthening its ties to his native South Africa.  Southern, one of the nation's largest predominantly Black universities, recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with Vista University in Pretoria, South Africa.  The three-year agreement, financed with more than $500,000 provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development, will send faculty from the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs to teach in Pretoria. Southern faculty also will go to South Africa to show educators at Vista University techniques for collecting data, analyzing a problem and then proposing a solution to the country's elected leaders. The agreement will also benefit Vista University students and faculty by offering exchanges and scholarships to Southern.

As many as 1,300 participants attended the $150 per person fund-raising banquet for Nelson Mandela. They enthusiastically supported him, in not only receiving his two honorary doctoral degrees from Southern and LSU, but in graciously accepting lavish praise from public and private officials on hand. LSU System President William Jenkins, also a native South African, credited Mandela with fighting both white and Black domination. "You walked free and with you a nation began to walk toward freedom," Jenkins said. He referred to the 27 years that Mandela spent in prison at the hands of South Africa's former white supremacist government.

Southern University System President Leon Tarver remarked "Mandela showed an incredible sense of community in accepting the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of all his countrymen who suffered under apartheid." Mandela indicated upon his release from prison ten years ago, he initially didn't want to talk to the white politicians who had kept him behind bars. "But our brains told us that if we (Blacks) didn't talk to those people, our country would go up in flames. The most difficult task is not to change the people around you, but to change yourself," he said. Mandela stated he felt privileged to become an honorary alumnus of both Southern and LSU and hoped "to measure up to the very high standards set by your other alumni." 

Spending 27 years behind bars for plotting to overthrow the racist government can give a person a lot of time to just sit and think, something that people on the outside do not do enough of, according to Mandela.  "It is a tragedy to go to jail, especially a white man's jail. But while there, you can sit down when everyone else is asleep and distance yourself from yourself, and discover how you have behaved. Some of the things I discovered made me ashamed. I was convinced I did not belong to this human race," remarked Mandela. He said during his own self-examination in jail, he realized he had made serious mistakes, and decided to rectify those mistakes when he got out of prison. His birth name, Rolihlahla, a Xhosa word, literally means "pulling the branch of a tree."  Colloquially it means "trouble-maker." It seems appropriate Mandela grew up to wage war against apartheid and help bring an end to his nation's state-sanctioned segregation.

After Mandela's release from prison in 1990 and commitment to stop his people's armed struggle against the segregationist apartheid government, plans were made to hold free elections in South Africa. In 1994, Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected South African president serving until his retirement last year. He acknowledged his regime "made many mistakes" during the crucial transitional period, but succeeded in changing the lives of "our people." 

During Southern University's commencement ceremony, Mandela urged the graduation class of 700 to find time to examine if they have behaved well in a civilized world. He stressed "self-examination can lead to a better life." Whether in public life or not, real leaders "identify those good men and women, Black or white, no matter their attitudes toward you, and find a way for them to contribute to society." He urged graduates to seek advanced degrees advising them a bachelor's degree is no longer enough if one is to significantly contribute. He also reminded them that it's necessary for them to acquire a strong knowledge of computers and the Internet. In his view, high technology is "changing the fabric of society."

The graduates soon learned Nelson Mandela has a terrific sense of humor. The President Emeritus of the Republic of South Africa drew hearty laughter when he compared himself to computer magnate Bill Gates. He quipped "I have 39 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. In one thing, I'm richer than Bill Gates. It will take him a long time before he can reach my level."

Mandela Q&A

Nelson Mandela: Biographical Sketch

Robert G. Miller is the vice president of Editorial Administration for iMinorities.com, Inc., and the editor of THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine, New Orleans, LA.