Nelson Mandela | What I Learned Today

December 7, 2013 Tom Janus Leave a comment

Courtesy of Patrice Murciano – Upsideart

With the passing of the former President of South Africa, I started thinking about what I new about him, and the first thought that I related to was “Apartheid”.  Aside from that, all I remember is how he was mostly revered by other leaders of countries around the world.  Then yesterday I discovered this….

As we celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela, who died yesterday at the age of 95, I want to make sure he is heralded for doing something no other head of government has ever done. As the first president of post-apartheid South Africa in 1996, Mandela ushered in that nation’s new constitution, which included protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The first of its kind.
“The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.”
The full Op-Ed from Jonathan Capehart is here
So much about his full record is yet to be assessed. There will be many obituaries for him, but the story of how we will remember him is only beginning to be written.