“Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost
a father,” South African President Jacob Zuma.
Mandela became a worldwide symbol of justice for his tireless
fight to liberate his home country from apartheid, a repressive system that
protected the rule of the white minority that came to power through European
colonization. The apartheid government held him as a political prisoner for 27
years, nearly a third of his life.
“He achieved more than could be expected of any man,” Obama
said. “Today, he has gone home. And we
have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human
beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to
the ages.”
Following his release from prison in 1990, Mandela worked
for a peaceful end to apartheid. His efforts led Norway to award him a Nobel
Peace Prize in 1993. The next year, the new democratic Republic of South Africa
overwhelming elected Mandela to its presidency, a position he held from 1994
until 1999.
Students on FAMU’s campus vigorously supported Mandela’s
cause throughout his life by staging numerous anti-apartheid protests.