Our Champion: Nelson Mandela

Tributes are pouring in from all over the globe to praise former South African prisoner and president Nelson Mandela, who passed away yesterday at the age of 95. "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," said President Barack Obama in a nationally televised address shortly after the news of Nelson’s death was announced. Former President Bill Clinton agreed. "History will remember Nelson Mandela as a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation," he declared. "We will remember him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion, for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy, but a way of life."

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo in Umtatu, which at that time was a part of South Africa's Cape Province. A member of the Xhosa group, he was born into the Thembu royal family. At birth he was given the name Rolihlahla, which translated means "troublemaker." On his first day of school, Nelson once recalled, his teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each student an English name. "This was the custom among Africans in those days, and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education," Nelson explained. "That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why this particular name, I have no idea." Today, the elder statesman is often referred to by his clan name, Madiba.

A big believer in the value of education, Nelson was himself an educated man. As a young child, his mother entrusted Nelson into the care of royal relatives, and while with his Thembu guardians, Nelson was enrolled in a Methodist mission school located next to the palace. At this school he studied the English and Xhosa languages, history, and geography. During this time, Nelson developed a deep appreciation for African culture and history. Later, he attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute in Engcobo, the largest school for black Africans in Thembuland, and then he transferred to Healdtown, the Methodist college in Fort Beaufort attended by most Thembu royalty. Next, Nelson attended the University of Fort Hare, a prestigious public university located in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. At the time of Nelson's enrollment, the University of Fort Hare was a prominent institution of higher education for black Africans. The facility offered a Western-style, academically rigorous education to elite students from across sub-Saharan Africa. Fort Hare alumni were integrally involved in many of the independence movements and governments of newly independent African countries. After Fort Hare, Nelson attended the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he studied law. Commonly referred to as Wits University, this institution is the third oldest university in continuous operation in South Africa.

All his life, Nelson was an unwavering supporter and advocate for education. He used his extensive educational background and his personal life experiences to achieve sweeping political changes in South Africa, including the elimination of apartheid. Nelson once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Although he was not a teacher in the "certificated" sense, Nelson Mandela taught each one of us how to be a better person, how to treat each other with respect and dignity, and how to make our world a better place. For these amazing accomplishments, he is a truly our champion.