Exclusive: The U.S. government’s relationship with Nelson Mandela was often strained, from the CIA’s hand in his imprisonment to Ronald Reagan’s veto of a sanctions bill aimed at getting him freed, lost history that must now be reconciled, writes Robert…
Tag: Nelson Mandela
Sanitizing Nelson Mandela
When Nelson Mandela was a dedicated freedom-fighter against white-ruled South Africa, he was almost as much a “non-person” in the U.S. media as he was in South Africa’s press. Only after Mandela pulled back from demands about redistributing wealth was he…
South Africa’s Troubled Times
Though South Africa emerged from the cruel injustice of Apartheid to create a multiracial democracy, the country never addressed the residual inequality of wealth and property, contributing now to social unrest and political turmoil, as Danny Schechter reports from Durban.
‘Prisoner’ of Mandela
Nearing his 94th birthday, Nelson Mandela is revered for his courageous struggle against apartheid and for racial justice in South Africa. His legendary movement drew in many reformers from around the world who made South Africa’s challenges their own, including Danny…
The Complexity of Mandela
Nelson Mandela was one of the last century’s great freedom fighters, taking on the evils of white supremacy in South Africa and defying the cold-hearted Realpolitik of Washington. But his triumph meant that the Western media would water down his…
South Africa’s Corruption Cancer
South Africa is often viewed as the model for Africa’s future, an inspiring country that shed the curse of apartheid and white supremacy in a largely peaceful transition to majority black rule. But the corrupt economic culture of that earlier era…
At 93, Mandela Still Inspires
As he turns 93, Nelson Mandela can look back on an extraordinary life of accomplishment, as the world’s iconic leader on behalf of racial justice and individual liberty. A new book of quotations compiles some of what he has learned…
Forgetting South Africa’s Triumph
South Africa’s heroic defeat of white supremacy made the country and its leader, Nelson Mandela, icons across the world. However, the nation’s neoliberal economic policies have left many South Africans struggling in poverty and growing despair, as Danny Schechter reports…