On Mandela Day, and never turning back

With Johanna at J.L. Zwane Church in February

Madiba. His Xhosa clan name.

Tata. Daddy. What his nation calls him.

Today is Mandela Day. What to get a 92-year-old hero? What he asks for – 67 minutes of our time, to honor his 67 years of service to South Africa, to the world. Mandela Day is “a call to action for each of us to help change the world, one kind act at a time.”

Amazw’ Entombi celebrated the day by holding a session of our writing group at J.L. Zwane Presbyterian Church after the service, to help anyone begin to write some of their own stories. The turnout was small; this is a busy church, and we had competition. But it’s not about tallying the numbers, I had to remind myself. Words capture memories and experiences and feelings, so they might be shared and relived and preserved.

Thanks to Johanna Singapi, now I know a little bit about how Gugulethu responded on the day Mandela walked free from prison, 11 February 1990.

Listen to Johanna:

On the day Tata uNelson Mandela was released, I was very excited, for it was my birthday month, just a few days after my birthday. It was summer and a beautiful day. After hearing about him for so long, I was at last going to see him.

It was a Sunday, and me and my friends were getting ready to go to the Grand Parade in Cape Town (where Mandela was to appear). Transport was no problem, for everybody was in a happy and forgiving mood, so you could even get free transport to town. When I got to our main street in Gugs, taxis were overflowing and people were going to the train station in big numbers. We were singing freedom songs and rejoicing, for our nation’s father was coming back.

When we got to Cape Town, the throng of people going to the Parade from the station was so thick that my feet did not touch the ground. I had to be careful not to fall for I would have been trampled to a pulp. More people were coming in by bus, train, and taxi, and the parade was already overflowing.  What a happy day! I had never before seen a gathering of that multitude.

And then our writing time was up, and like a serialized Dickens story, she left us hanging.  I’ve already told Johanna that she must finish this, because I want to know what happened when Madiba finally appeared. She promised me she would, so you’ll hear from her again.

After Johanna mentioned freedom songs, I wrote this post tonight listening to Mavis Staples’ album, We’ll Never Turn Back, with songs from the U.S. civil rights movement and some backing vocals from South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  Some days, it’s easy to draw the line that brought me to this place so far from my home.

Happy Birthday, Tata.

Madiba overlooks the Grand Parade and FIFA Fan Fest, July 2010