Mandela
I remember reading Part of My Soul Went with Him, by Winnie Mandela, and while not agreeing with their socialist idea’s, I certainly supported their work for freedom of speech and the right to assemble, and shared their disdain for apartheid.
Walking through the streets of London, in 1986, I stopped at a street vendor’s stall, and bought the yellow button: “Free Nelson Mandela”.
I never imagined, when buying the button that I would one day see Mr. Mandela in person, and certainly not in Los Angeles, California; but I did. In February of 1990, after spending 27 years in prison, four months after he was released from jail, he and Winnie came to Los Angeles,
The “Mandela! ‘Rally for Freedom’ Los Angeles Coliseum, June 29, 1990,” button was purchased that evening; as we were leaving the concert, we saw him again, in his limousine, being driven away – for a moment, he was close enough touch.
Mr. Mandela passed away on December 5, 2013; he died a Nobel Peace Laureate, as well as the former President of the nation, which so long imprisoned him.
