LifeTimes

“Welcome to Nelson Mandela Square” declared a long banner near the outside of the South African consulate building in posh Beverly Hills.

The unofficial renaming of the area was made by local anti-apartheid activists after hearing the news Feb. 11 [1990] that Nelson Mandela was finally free. The event was one of many similar anti-apartheid celebrations that took place in major cities across the United States, including Washington D.C., Chicago and New York.

The images of a freed Mandela walking defiantly out of prison and addressing his own people in jammed rallies cannot help but bring a lump to the throat and tears to the eyes of the millions of anti-apartheid activists around the world This is the day we had long hoped for, but realistically thought we’d never see in our lifetimes. It was indeed world history in the making.
(continued…)