Robben Island is the prison where political prisoner, future and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life. The view from the island is gorgeous but the prison itself and what it represents is no Paradise!

 Nelson Mandela was a Freedom Fighter and still is, however he was given a “Life Sentence” during the Rivonia Trial for his stance on Equality and Fairness for people not only of his own kind.

Prior to all this in 1952, he was charged with organizing the Defiance Campaign and was given a 9 month suspended sentence. During this time Nelson expressed, “ I have to go underground, as it is the only course left open to me despite my hard ship. I have to separate myself from my wife and children, from my mother and sisters, to live as an outlaw in my own land. I have had to abandon my profession and live in poverty and misery, as many people are doing....The Struggle, he concluded, 'is my Life.'

In 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested again, this time on a tip from a Police Informer and was captured in Natal. Taken into court and charged with  Inciting Africans to Strike in 1961 and leaving the country without Valid Travel Documents, he was sentenced to 5 years Hard Labor! Mandela addressed the court, “ When my sentence has been completed..... I will still be moved to take up again, as best I can, the struggle for the removal of injustices until they are finally abolished once and for all!”

In 1964, Nelson was to face charges of  trying to over throw the government, and the penalty if found Guilty could be DEATH! Nelson welcomed the platform of Court to clarify to the country his position on what he considered central to South African politics.

“We want equal political rights.....It is not true that the enfranchisement of All will result in Racial Domination.. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against Racialism. When it triumphs it will not change policy. This then is what  the African National Congress is fighting for...It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.” Mr. Mandela then stopped and looked at the Judge and spoke these words; 'I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.'   2 days later Nelson Mandela was found “GUILTY!”

Now I am going to where he labored for 20 some odd years, breaking Rocks in this Lime Stone quarry day in and day out. Tedious work to be sure and yet there was no use of the Lime Stone Rocks he chipped away on endlessly for years on end.

               Visiting Robben Island by ferry with family was surreal for me, after all I was the first in my African American Family Heritage to make the pilgrimage home the the Mother Land and I am on a sight seeing excursion to a Prison? This is a tour I needed to take!

I knew of Mandela and what he stood for, as I studied African American History in College, since it is not taught in school unless you elected it.

Funny, the need for a Black kid to have to “Elect” to study his own heratige but so it is in America, since only American History is Mandatory in school, meaning the “Slave Trade” was all that gets taught in high school. In college, as an adult, I felt it necessary to learn of wince my people came. 

Now I am going to where a World ICON  labored for 20 some odd years breaking Rocks in this Lime Stone quarry day in and day out. Tedious work to be sure and yet there was no use of the Lime Stone Rocks he chipped away on endlessly, as a human life was withering in the African Sun..

In America we had Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, both gunned down in their prime! Nelson Mandela was used in  punch lines for the politically unfortunate. After visiting this place and the cage he was kept in, I found new respect for Freedom and what it entails! Learning about his stance on Freedom and Political Equality made me sit up and pay attention to the good fortune of having people like him pave the way for people like me. To come and go as I please, to say and do what I want as a person has new meaning when I visited this place.

Trust me when I say, that if we don't study and learn our history, we are bound to repeat it! Nelson is free today for one reason, he stood for something he believed in. When he got the chance to show the world he seized the day! Upon his release, he quickly became this countries President and went about the business of abolishing Apartheid! What he believed in got him thrown in jail and what he believed in helped him liberate a Country!

Nelson Mandela walked the walk:

February being recognized as Black History Month, I'd like to acknowledge and give thanks and praise to Nelson Mandela, who like Martin Luther King Jr., stood for something bigger than themselves. Mr. Mandela had a Faith stronger than most that if he were to die for his beliefs of Equality for ALL, he would not to prove a point but because if he could not have that as a Man, what else is there to have in this life?

Nelson Mandela represents what is “Good” about human nature. He represents what is “Right” about sticking to your guns in the face of death!

If you are gonna die a Man, do it standing on your feet and not on your knee's begging for what should be your at birth from Father God upstairs.

Nelson is still the Man!

All that South Africa is today, is because of a man who believed in himself and the good of others. No, he did not fight this war on his own, however the others who fought along side him were better because of him, as is the rest of the world!

             Today, Nelson is a ripe 85 years old, an accomplished artist, retired leader and a representative to the world! Robben Island has become a tourist attraction for one of the most decorated political prisoners of All Time! A constant reminder of what Man Kind can do without a Checks and Balance System. Mandela sells his art, is featured on Post Cards, has books about his life and is a liason to the world.

The Gate Way to Robben Island is a door to where you can get a perspective on the true meaning of Faith! Without it, where would Mandela be or worse yet, where would we be as people today?

Mandela's Struggle is our Struggle.

Peace, Fairness, Equality, Political Power, Love, Faith, Peace, Freedom, Speech, Principle's

Enjoy and share Black history month with your family and friends!

Stay Hungry!