Mandela and the Black Diaspora

Nelson Mandela belongs to the world now. The outpouring of love for him from all corners of the globe since his death is a reflection of how far his long walk to freedom has taken him—and us.

I’m enormously gratified that people of all racial and political stripes have come to appreciate Mandela as they have other civil and human rights leaders once considered polarizing and dangerous, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. For folks across the black diaspora, who know a thing or two about oppression and injustice, it didn’t take any time to come around to Mandela. He had us at hello.