George,

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, freedom-fighter, political prisoner, statesman, reconciler, and first democratically-elected President of South Africa made his transition at the age of 95 to the realm of immortality, on December 5th South Africa's time and December 6th United States' calendar time.

For many years Mandela was a leader of the African National Congress (ANC), a political organization that engaged in the anti-apartheid struggle against the white government of South Africa. In 1962 Mandela and a number of other ANC members trained in guerilla warfare and practitioners of radical activism were convicted for treason and sabotage and in 1964 he was sentenced to life in prison. Subsequently, he spent 18 years on Robben Island, 6 years in Pollsmoor Prison and 3 years at Victor Verster Prison. He was released from prison in 1990. Many black people were murdered by white people in South Africa. The ANC was NOT a nov-voiolent organization. It was a responsible-oriented organization that employed violence and non violence as needed. ANC leaders were committed to protecting black people from being mass murdered by white racists.

During the 27 years Mandela was in prison there were people in many parts of the world calling for the death of apartheid in South Africa and the release of Mandela from prison. In this regard, in America, much credit is due the Congressional Black Caucus whose efforts accounted for the United States Congress enacting a Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986 that would impose sanctions against the government of South Africa. President Ronald Reagan vetoed the Anti-Apartheid Act as he joined Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC), Strom Thurmond (R-SC), and Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and Rep. Dick Cheney (R-Wyo) who fought in Congress to prevent its passage. Three years later South Africa would be forced to dismantle apartheid because of economic sanctions by the United States and some other countries.

Mandela was released from prison in February of 1990 and in 1994 he became South Africa's first democratic-elected president. I was a resident of Los Angeles in June of 1990 when Mandela made his first visit to that city and one of the more than 75,000 people who gathered at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to hear him speak. Three years later when he visited Los Angeles he met with Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Rep. Maxine Waters and Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray who represented the Interdenominational Alliance that, at the time, I was secretary.

Shortly after his first visit to Los Angeles I sent Mandela a copy of my book, "The Mutuality Warrior" and an article I had written for publication in "The Full Life Magazine" that described him as being a Mutuality Warrior.

Let us not forget that Mandela, like Martin Luther King, Jr., would not have been successful, i.e., effective, as a leader had it not been for people who created a climate that was conducive to change, which in part, resulted from a resolve to meet violence with violence.

Mandela was a leader par excellence. May his legacy live in perpetuity.

(Uriah J. Fields, Electronic mail, December 8, 2013)