Newspaper Page Text
Page 10 • SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT • January-February, 1987
Nelson Mandela: Writing for the Truth
Two new books by the im
prisoned leader of South Africa’s
anti-apartheid movement,
Nelson Mandela, have been
recently published in the United
States. They are The Struggle Is
My Life and Habla Nelson
Mandela.
Mandela’s books are publish
ed by Pathfinder in New York,
which also publishes books by
Fidel Castro, Malcolm X, and
leaders of the Sandinista revolu
tion in Nicaragua.
The Struggle Is My Life brings
together speeches and writings
by Mandela spanning more than
40 years of his activity in the
African National Congress
(ANC), the major organization
fighting for the end of apartheid
rule in South Africa. Mandela’s
courtroom testimony in the
1964 trial at which he was
sentenced to life imprisonment
is also included. A special sup
plement contains accounts of
Mandela in prison by his fellow
prisoners.
Among the most recent
material is Mandela’s reply to
South African President P.W.
Botha’s 1985 offer to release
Mandela if the ANC leader “un
conditionally rejected violence
as a political weapon.” In his
reply, read by his daughter Zin-
zi to a mass meeting in Soweto,
near Johannesburg, Mandela
said: “Let him (Botha) renounce
violence. Let him say that he will
dismantle apartheid. Let him
unban the people’s organization,
the African National Congress.
Let him free all who have been
imprisoned, banished or exiled
for their opposition to apartheid.
Let him guarantee free political
activity so that people may
decide who will govern them .
“But I cannot sell my bir
thright, nor am I prepared to sell
the birthright of the people to be
free . . .
“Only free men can negotiate.
Prisoners cannot enter into con
tracts ... I cannot and will not
given any undertaking at a-time
when I and you, the people, are
not free.
“Your freedom and mine
cannot be separated. I will
return.”
Mandela remains imprisoned
at the Pollsmoor maximum
security prison near Cape
Town, despite the growing
movement in South Africa and
throughout the world deman
ding his release.
Habla Nelson Mandela con
tains Spanish translations of
Mandela’s courtroom testimony
in 1962 and 1964, and the
Freedom Charter, the key docu
ment of the South African
freedom struggle.
Both books contain
photographs of Mandela, his
wife, Winnie, and protest ac
tivities in South Africa. These
books are available in local
bookstores or by mail from
Pathfinder Press, 410 West St.,
New York, NY 10014.
Join the Spotlight
Staff. Watch For
Our Next Meeting!
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library Preservation of History
By Bennett B. Williams
Jimmy who? This was the
question that was answered
when Jimmy Carter ran for
president in 1976. Since then
the question has not arisen and
the name has not quite lingered
out of our minds.
Carter lost his presidency in
1980 to Ronald Reagan, but he
has still maanged to maintain a
honest and trustworthy opinion.
Carter has always been for the
people, and with the opening of
the Jimmy Carter Presidential
Library I saw that he is still for
the people.
When I walked into the
library, I heard voices of Carter,
and these voices continued
throughout the tour of the
library. The tour of the library
starts with a film which tells the
history and development of the
role of the President. The film
explains how Carter was a Presi
dent of the people, and com
pared him to Andrew Jackson.
It said Jackson was the first
President to come from the
West. He was known as the
tribune of the people and he
believed in a very strong
presidency.
As I moved from the movie
theatre to continue my tour, I
noticed that the library was
broken down into sections. The
first of these sections was entitl
ed Gifts of State which featured
gifts to the former President and
family room around the world.
The next area was the replica
of the Oval office. As soon as I
entered the Oval office there
was a recording of Carter’s voice
that gave information about the
Oval office. The most interesting
feature about this room was the
replica of the desk. Former
President Carter gave history
about the desk in which he ex
plained that this was the same
desk that former President John
Kennedy used. Carter also ex
plained that the desk came from
a British ship that was frozen in
the ice in the North Pole. Carter
says the first time he saw the of
fice was after he was elected.
The next section on the tour
was entitled Commitment to
Human Rights. This section
featured an enlarged copy of the
Declaration of Independence.
The next section which was
one of the large sections was en
titled Protecting the Future. In
this section I got a good
understanding of Carter’s con
tribution to energy, education
and the environment. Education
was featured in this section with
the television cartoon telling
how a bill becomes a law and
also the cartoon which helps
kids understand how they can
help conserve energy.
As the tour continued the
next five sections featured the
issuese that were most important
while Carter was the President.
These sections were Strengthen-
See Library, p. 16
Reprinted from Nelson Mandela: The Struggle Is My Life with per
mission of Pathfinder Press, 410 West St., N.Y., N.Y. 10014.
Nelson and Winnie Mandela on their wedding day, 14 June 1958,
Reprinted from Nelson Mandela: The Struggle Is My Life with per
mission of Pathfinder Press, 410 West St., N.Y., N.Y. 10014.
Entertainment