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Posts tagged as “Nelson Mandela”

R.I.P. Nigerian Novelist Chinua Achebe, Grandfather of African Literature

Chinua Achebe in 2008 at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., where he was a professor at the time.(Craig Ruttle/Associated Press)

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, widely seen as the grandfather of modern African literature, has died at the age of 82.  From the publication of his first novel, “Things Fall Apart”, over 50 years ago, Achebe shaped an understanding of Africa from an African perspective more than any other author.  As a novelist, poet, broadcaster and lecturer, Achebe was a yardstick against which generations of African writers have been judged. For children across Africa, his books have for decades been an eye-opening introduction to the power of literature.

Describing Achebe as a “colossus of African writing”, South African President Jacob Zuma expressed sadness at his death. Nelson Mandela, who read Achebe’s work in jail, has called him a writer “in whose company the prison walls fell down.”

Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, published in 1958, told of his Igbo ethnic group’s fatal brush with British colonizers in the 1800s – the first time the story of European colonialism had been told from an African viewpoint to an international audience. The book was translated into 50 languages and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

First Photo of Nelson Mandela in 2013 Revealed; Granddaughters Say "His Health is Very Good"

Nelson Mandela with his  youngest great-grandson, Zen Manaway. Family says photo was taken Saturday February 2, 2013. (Photo courtesy 'Being Mandela'/COZI TV.)

Nelson Mandela with his youngest great-grandson, Zen Manaway. Family says photo was taken Saturday February 2, 2013. (Photo courtesy ‘Being Mandela’/COZI TV.)

Nelson Mandela’s granddaughters are currently in New York City promoting their new reality show Being Mandela.  During an interview with the Grio, the sisters gave an update on their 95-year-old grandfather’s health.
“His health is very good. He’s surrounded by family,” Nelson and Winnie Mandela’s granddaughter Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway said. “We go to the house all the time. He’s really happiest the most when he spends time with his great grandchildren. So before we came on the trip we literally went to go see him to say bye. So he’s in really really good spirits. We’re very happy.”

23 Years Ago Today: Nelson Mandela Released After Decades-Long Imprisonment

 (Photo: TREVOR SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)
On Feb. 2, 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk announced the release of imprisoned political leader Nelson Mandela and lifted the country’s ban on membership in the African National Congress, the political party that pushed for equal rights for Blacks under the racially oppressive apartheid government.  
Mandela, the leader of the ANC, spent 27 years behind bars after being convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life in prison. De Klerk worked with Mandela to transition the country from apartheid rule to the majority rule it enjoys today. Both he and Mandela were awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize for Peace for their efforts.  In 1994, Mandela won the presidency in South Africa’s first all-inclusive elections. In 1999, at 80 years old, he opted out of another run for presidency to retire from public life.
article by Britt Middleton via bet.com

Special To Premiere On First Graduating Class Of Oprah’s South African School

Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

Oprah Winfrey poses with the graduates on her arrival at the inaugural graduation of the class of 2011 at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls on January 14, 2012 in Henley on Klip, South Africa. (Photo by Michelly Rall/Getty Images)

The Oprah Winfrey Network will premiere a television special on October 14 following the journey of the first graduating class from Oprah’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.  The two-hour special, The First Graduating Class: Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, will give viewers a look into the challenges and victories the 72 girls, who were only twelve and thirteen when they left home to enroll in the school, faced during their time at the academy.