It's impossible not to drew parallels between South Africa's Nelson Mandela and the United States' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., both key leaders in their nations' respective civil rights movements.
As iconic as these names have been, I haven't studied either of them in depth. I knew that King wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" during his eleven days in prison, and while I could have guessed that Mandela made the most of his time in prison (a shocking 27 years), I had no idea he earned a bachelor of law degree from the University of London. Perhaps it was common knowledge, but you learn something new every day.
Other similarities I see among them include a religious background and non-violent resistance as a method of protest.
In terms of power and political influence, Mandela became president of South Africa in 1994 but the reality of a black American president didn't happen until 2008. That's an interesting contrast considering that legal segregation ended decades earlier in the United States but it makes sense in the context of South Africa's free elections and blacks being the majority.
Another obvious (but significant) difference between the two is the fact that MLK was assassinated in 1968 while Mandela died from a respiratory infection in 2013 at the age of 95.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - Nelson Mandela (Madiba)
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" - Martin Luther King Jr.
It's hard to zero in on just one quote by each man. From looking at a collection of both their thoughts, they are on the exact same page about various concepts: the power of education, combating hate with love (and working with your enemy to get a job done) and perseverance in the face of seemingly important obstacles.
That being said, I choose these two quotes because they reflect the bigger picture of why they were who they were and did what they did.
No comments:
Post a Comment