This read like a spy novel. Incredible. A real life super hero

I can’t put my finger on what exactly inspired me to read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. It was more like a general dissatisfaction at having everything I knew about Mandela being based on popular media and imagery. I wanted to get a taste of the complexities of Mandela’s life and ideals, in his own words.

He wrote Long Walk to Freedom twenty years ago, so it does not cover too much of the time between his release from prison and his death in 2013. Instead, it focuses on Mandela’s childhood and young adulthood, his early days as a lawyer in Johannesburg, his increasing involvement with the African National Congress in the campaign against oppression, and his 27-year long imprisonment.

Mandela’s attention to detail in this autobiography is incredible. I came away with a strong sense of the inner workings of the ANC and a profound respect for the commitment of those in the anti-apartheid movement. It’s completely mind-blowing the extremes to which the South African government went in order to repress the overwhelming majority of its population. That Mandela and his colleagues continued this struggle even within prison is impressive.

It was also clear from his writings that he was deeply conflicted about the sacrifices his family had to make for him to be a freedom fighter. Although it pained him, he acknowledged that it was not possible for him to be both the “father of the nation” and a real father to his own children. For Mandela, the greater good of freeing South Africa from oppression was worth the sacrifice. In any case, it was a fascinating peek into Mandela’s mind and at South African history.

WOW! This was a LONG LONG Walk to Freedom. While I learned a great deal about the life of Nelson Mandela (more than I could have ever hoped to know), I did not learn nearly as much as I hoped to learn about apartheid itself. Until the afterward, I learned nothing about his commitment to the AIDS epidemic which I would have loved to learn more about. Unfortunately, this was a bit of a disappointment (and one heck of a long commitment).

Recently, I was teaching a class where the students read an essay about the reconciliation meetings that were done in South Africa.
And my students did not know, or claimed not know, who Mandela was.
Sad, but true.
As time goes on, we forgot. We are a nation that has been, and in many ways still is, affected by 9-11, but the average college freshman who is currently 18 was 5 then. There are people whose understanding of apartheid, if they have one, is one of distance and this happened last generation.
It’s the nature of time, but we do fight against it. We read the words of those who lived it.
This is why Mandela’s book should be read. Because we should know, beyond doubt that we should know.
Because Mandela’s book is honesty. He doesn’t really excuse, but explains the radical steps that he had to take. He re-considers them and shows why such steps were considered. He doesn’t hide what he was – either in the past or when he was writing the book. Understanding his power, knowledge is power. And that type of power changes the world.
That is why we, as the human race, should remember not to forget.