Cape Town — the townships
It’s almost hard to speak about this day. We started off in the opulence of the Cape Grace hotel. Then we traveled into the townships, into extreme poverty, sitting in the shadows of Capetown’s European elegance. It’s poverty. If you’ve traveled at all, you’ve seen it. If you live in...
Cape Town — the beauty
There’s the iconic peacemaker, there’s the social justice… and then there’s the beauty.
1993 – Nelson Mandela, defeated hatred in South Africa
The son of a tribal chief, Nelson Mandela began his opposition to South Africa’s government policies while attending college. He went on to become a lawyer and joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944. For two decades he led the fight against apartheid’s racist policies, until he was sentenced...
1993 – F. W. de Klerk, helped end Apartheid
An attorney who held a number of South African ministerial posts, F.W. de Klerk became both the leader of South Africa’s National Party and the country’s president in 1989. Upon becoming President, de Klerk, a conservative, shocked many when he lifted the ban on the African National Congress and other...
1984 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, anti-apartheid hero
In 1979, Anglican priest Desmond Mpilo Tutu became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC). He spoke strongly and internationally, pushing for non-violent change and economic sanctions against South Africa. In reaction, the South African government revoked his passport. By 1982, Tutu’s isolation and...