After walking into the sunshine, Mr. Mandela didn't find a comfortable chair in the shade and just sit down with a cold glass of lemonade. He continued to work for the rights of all citizens of South Africa, work that he had not put down while behind those bars. The Freedom Charter was written into a wall at the Palace of Justice in Pretoria. The preamble says "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white and no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people." He was elected and served as president of his beloved South Africa in the first general election there, and worked hard to build up a democratic infrastructure. He is still an inspiration, for his dignity, his grace, his upholding of his commitment to freedom even when he was not free.
So in this 21st century, have we arrived at that destination called Freedom? Have we touched down on the tarmac of shelter, food and healthcare for all? Are we on the staircase of accessible and affordable education for all? Are we crossing the intersection of Accountabilty Avenue and Integrity Road? The sad, loud answer is "no". Sometimes it feels as though the walk has gone completely off the road. We have libraries with books and the internet, making it easier than ever to research and learn. We have greater communication choices with even more being developed every day. And what 'research' are we 'communicating'? Reality shows that are spectacles of bad taste and language. Videos that show how much one can shake while nearly naked. Stories of bad government and wasteful spending around the world. Missteps, misrepresentation and mistakes all around. Marvin Gaye called it when he recorded "Make Me Wanna Holler" on 'Inner City Blues': "...Oh, make me wanna holler And throw up both my hands Yea, it makes me wanna holler And throw up both my hands..." Owww!
After the hollering and hand throwing, then what? Back to the walk, back to working to make positive changes in our communities. Back to speaking up for those without a voice or vehicle to make themselves heard. Back to mentoring and encouraging the children to dream big and learning how to make those dreams real. Back to speaking up and speaking out for what is right. Back to getting up when we stumble or when we fall. Back to being the change that we want to see.
Rosa Parks, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Sarah Delany and Bessie Delany, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Dr. John Hope Franklin, the Tuskeegee Airmen, Roberto Clemente, Osceola McCarty, Ulysses B. Kinsey, Jackie Robinson, Brig. General Daniel "Chappie" James and those who struggled for freedom in South Africa, among so many others around the world, didn't get it wrong. President Barack Obama, Dr. Keith Black, Oprah Winfrey, Rep. John Lewis, Ron Clark, Maya Angelou, Attorney Areva Martin, Rev. Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, Rae Lewis-Thornton, Bernard Kinsey and Shirley Kinsey, and General Colin Powell, among so many others, aren't getting it wrong. There is room on the road for us to continue the walk. Thank you, Madiba, for your courage and your strength through the struggle. www.nelsonmandela.org/ It was a thrill to watch you walk out of prison on that Sunday afternoon. It is an honor and a privilege to walk the path of freedom and to look to your journey and others' journeys for inspiration. Go Well.
The Window Seat by Karen Caffee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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