Monthly Archives: October 2014

Nelson Mandela…OBVIOUSLY

When it comes to overcoming adversity and becoming a champion for your race and country, look no further than the legendary Nelson Mandela. Mandela is the most influential man to ever come out of South Africa and achieved so many great things in his 90 plus years. Mandela overcame social discrimination, racism, poverty and inequality to become the first black democratic leader of South Africa in 1994.

In the mid 1900’s apartheid was in full swing in South Africa. There was a huge racial divide between the white and black citizens in South Africa set forth by the National Party. Because of this separation there was always a history of violence between the two political groups in South Africa, however help would soon be on the way.

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and soon became very interested in law. In 1952 Mandela joined the Defiance Campaign protesting against the National Party and started calling for equality in South Africa. In 1961 Mandela was a leader in forming the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was a militant force with a purpose of overthrowing the South African government. Because of this, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for being a terrorist.

Mandela suffered in jail for 27 years until in 1990 he was released and joined president F. W. de Klerk in abolishing apartheid and bringing piece to South Africa. In 1994, South Africa hosted its first multi-cultural election and its was an election that Mandela would go on to win. Mandela would become South Africa’s first black president in a time when not 20 years ago he was cast away as a terrorist.

Mandela’s 4 years in office were some of the most productive anyone has ever seen in a democracy. Mandela created a new constitution for South Africa, helped the country rise above human rights abuses, fought poverty and created a healthcare system. Even when Mandela refused to run for a second term he was still very active in the betterment of his country. He worked internationally as a political mediator between countries, for example the bombing trial between the UK and Libya. He even started a foundation to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Mandela’s impact on South Africa as a country is incomprehensible. As the hero of their history, he dragged South Africa out of the ignorant ashes of racism to the greener pastures of racial equality. One of my favorite things about Nelson Mandela is that he did not just stop there. He set up South Africa for success for many, many years to come. His legal background and political skills help South Africa become a real player in world politics and that’s not something you can measure in dollars.

Of all the things Mandela has accomplished the thing that makes me admire him the most is his constant ability to rise above the hate and bigotry. It amazes me to think of a man who is working so hard to better his people but also to be hailed as a terrorist. That takes a kind of patience and persistence that I did not think existed. When I saw the assignment for this blog I knew there was only one man I could write about, and for good reason. Every person who wants to make a difference should look at Nelson Mandela as a inspiration to make change in a world that seems so stagnant and set in it’s ways.

The republic of Benin gained its independence through very interesting means. Although the method they employed to gain their independence was quite different from the methods of most African countries employed like writings, legal skills, music, paintings, speeches or even peaceful protests; it was successful.

The road to independence all began when an autonomous republic was formed in The republic of Benin within the French colony. Soon after this nationalist movement began, The Republic of Benin became fragmented and divided amongst itself and subsequently divided the people. This led to the division of the nationalist movement into three regionally based political groups.

These three groups were led by three men called Sourou-Migan Apithy, Justin Ahomadégbé and Hubert Maga. These three men all become president of the Republic Of Congo at different times afterwards. Sourou-Migan  Apithy was born on April 8, 1913 and died on December 3, 1989. He was a Beninese political figure most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He became politically active when one’s power was dictated by what region in Dahomey (old name of The Republic of Benin) they lived. Sourou-Migan Apithy had the support of the region called Porto-Novo which is now the country’s capital and he was the president from 1964 to 1965.

The next political group leader Justin Ahomadégbé was born on January 16, 1917, a direct descendant of the kings of Abomey, the town of his birth. He attended the Ecole William Ponty and the French West Africa School of Medicine in Dakar. He served in the French Army for a short period, where he attained the rank of sergeant. He had the support of Abomey region (which was where the great Dahomey kingdom was situated) and he was president in 1972.

Finally Hubert Maga had the support of the northern part of The republic of Benin and he actually became president for two terms from 1960 and 1963 and from 1970 to 1972. According to Wikipedia, Hubert was born a peasant in 1916, he served as a schoolmaster from 1936 to 1945, during which time he gradually gained considerable influence among the uneducated. He was elected to Dahomey’s territorial assembly in 1947 and founded the Northern Ethnical Group. Maga’s rise to power occurred during a period of intense regionalism in Benin.

These men can be classified as the freedom fighters in Benin even though they fought for their independence quite differently. They used mainly politics which included the formation of political parties to gain their independence.

The Republic of Benin gained its Independence on the 1^st of August 1960 and although the country gained its Independence, they suffered a dozen years of ethnic fighting and coups until 1972 when a man called Mathieu Kerekou took over rule and established a Marxist government which according to Wikipedia is a methodology that uses economic and sociopolitical inquiry and applies that to the analysis and critique of the development of capitalism and the role of class struggle in systemic economic change. On November 30^th 1975, Mathieu Kerekou renamed the country to The People’s Republic of Benin since then national day has been celebrated on November 30^th every year.

Sources : www.britannica.com, www.wikipedia.com

Senegal has had many influential people in it country that has taken it to where it is today. Although Senegal is not in the best shape, they are a country that is progressing to greater things for the future. They have had a lot of people who became influential including the politician Léopold Sédar Senghor and Grammy winner Youssou N’Dour.

Léopold Sédar Senghor

       Léopold Sédar Senghor was an extremely influential person in Senegal who is thought to be one of the most important African intellectuals of the 20^th century. He was Senegalese poet, politician, and a cultural theorist who also became the first president of Senegal in 1960. Senghor was the president of Senegal for 2 decades and did his very best to give his country as much as he could. When he began his involvement in politics, Senegal was no yet an impendent country and they were still fighting for independence and he then founded the Senegalese Democratic Bloc political party. He was an activist and supported federalism for all of the newly independent African states. Many African countries did not like the idea of federalism so he chose to form and was the president of the Federal Assembly until it eventually failed in 1960 when Senegal gained independence.  While he was the president of Senegal he created the national anthem and took on many presidential duties. The current prime minster of that time, Mamadou Dia, was his right hand man in executing Senghors plan for Senegal’s long-term development, but they both did not agree on things. Dia was then arrested fot twelve years for suspicion of fomenting a coup d’etat.  Senghor survived many issues including an assassination attempt in 1967. He then resigned in 1980 with many accomplishment under his presidency including adopting a multi-party system, and a performing education system.

                Senghor died on December 20, 2001 in Verson where he spent the last years of his life with his wife. He left behind his legacy and contributes to Senegal including his contributing factor to Senegal’s political stability. It now remains one of the few African nations never to have a coup, and always had a humble transfer of power.

Youssou N’Dour

  Youssou N’Dour has many talents that he has put forth thought his entire life. He is a singer, percussionist, songwriter, composer, actor, business man, and Politian. He began performing when he was only 12 years old with a group that separated sometime during the 70s. His mother, Wolof, and father, Sever, opened him up to two different cultures that inspired him to identify himself as a modern griot. He formed his own group in 1979 by the name of Étoile de Dakar. They became popular all over Africa with their own developed and unique style in the 80s. By 1991 N’Dour opened his own recording studio and then his own recording label by 1995. Over the next 10 years he really marketed himself and his brand and became one of the most amazing singers to come from Africa. In 2005, he won his First American Grammy Award for best contemporary world music album for is album Egypt. By 2011 he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in music from Yale University, which was a huge accomplishment for him and his country. He has recently won a share of the Sweden’s Polar music prize of $150, 000 for simply promoting and understanding of what he believes in and his faiths for his music as well. He is presently still making albums and being influential thought the many things he accomplishes in life. He has so many more things to do and accomplish in the years to come.