Rev 15: Cults, Militias, Hate Groups, & So Change Ag

Cults are often a small, independent religious org w/ a set of beliefs & practices that differ sharply from conventional religious tenets & behavior (Collins, 1991)

They range in size from a few followers to worldwide orgs directed by a complex chain of command

Members of these grps generally consider them to be legitimate religions & rarely call them cults

Because there is no one definition of cults, their number & membership today cannot be accurately measured

Most historians of religion use the more neutral term new religious movement instead of cult

Since the 1960s, publicity about cults has altered the meaning of the term to one that is much more negative

Today, the term is applied to grps that follow a living leader who promotes new & unorthodox doctrines & practices

According to some estimates, 3,000 cults exist throughout the world

These cults claim a total estimated membership of more than 3 mm people, mostly young adults

Some leaders demand that members live apart from everyday society in communities called communes

While older societal perceptions of cults viewed them primarily as small religions, since the 1960s modern views of cults see them as orgs which exhibit total social control w/ a religious ideology

Thus while tradl cults usually had charismatic leader, modern cults also exhibit charismatic leaders as well as high levels of cohesion, conformity, creating what is called total institutions

See Also: The Aryan Nations

	INTERNATIONAL TIES
	Today there are signs of diffusion among hate grps across nat boundaries
	Ridgeway, 1990, notes that by the 1980s the far right in the US began to forge ties w/ similar grps abroad
	The progress to an intl mvmt was achieved at 1st by skinheads who also struck up an alliance in the US w/ the KKK
	In addition to the birth of this street fighting youth mvmt, the far right began to move into electoral politics
	In 1989, the Dragon of the Invisible Empire, an offshoot of the Louisiana Klan, initiated an extensive recruitment plan in W Euro that coincided w/ the intl renaissance of the far right
	As the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 a reappearance of Euro right wing extremism was fed by the currents of nationalistic & religious conflict
	Skinhead were reported in E Ger in 1988, & their numbers grew rapidly (Ridgeway, 1990)
	Skinheads originally emerged from the British mod youth culture mvmt that began when English teenagers started to define themselves 1st in terms of their music, such as acid rock & reggae, & later according to their political orientation (Aronowitz, 1994)
	As the mvmt seemed likely to be co-opted by the larger culture by becoming trendy, those young men broke off from the main mvmt & redefined their goals, emphasizing downward mobility, rejection of consumerism, & expressions of skinhead disaffection (Ridgeway, 1990)
	Transplanted to the US via the invitation form the Klan, the more extreme skinhead practices such as slam dancing & Paki bashing merged w/ Am tendencies toward violence, racial segregation, & rural bullying
	Near the end of the 1980s, Tom Metzger, leader of the White Aryan Resistance (WAR), saw the skinheads as the way to revitalize the White Supremacist Mvmt w/ younger members
	Metzger help his son John, to build the Aryan Youth Mvmt, the WAR affiliate youth grp, using older racist to motivate their younger counterparts to violence
	US skinheads were responsible for an increase in right wing terrorism & were implicated in violent assaults against homosexuals, & anti Semitic attacks, including arson, bombing, cemetery desecrations, assaults, & murders
	The high level of violence continued into the 1990s, but the FBI arrested Aryan Nation members who planned to bomb Seattle's largest gay club
	As skinhead attacks on Asians became common, the Klan abandoned their robes for camouflage
	The farm crisis in Am attracted rural people to the radical right which counseled farmers to fight back against bank & govtl foreclosures
	Tax evasion also came to the forefront w/ hard econ times, w/ the far right continuing to argue that fed income taxes were unconstitutional
	One of the newest & most popular hate grps is the World Church of the Creator (WCC)
	See Also: The World Church of the Creator (WCC)

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Outline on the KKK

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The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) is perhaps the most notorious practitioner of vigilante terrorism in the US

The KKK was so integrated into the fabric of American life, that they may be considered as part of state terrorism

The KKK is a grp of white secret societies who oppose the advancement of blacks, Jews, & other minority grps

The KKK, also called the Klan, is active in the US & in Canada but has no real impact around the world

The KKK often uses violence to achieve its aims & Klan members wear robes & hoods, & burn crosses at their outdoor meetings & they also burn crosses to frighten nonmembers

There are FOUR major periods of Klan activity

1. THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA OF THE KKK

The 1st Era of the KKK was the Reconstruction Era, the mid 1860s to the early 1870s

The KKK was formed as a social club by a group of Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, TN., in 1865 or 1866

The KKK was formed in 1865 by a small group of confederate Army officers in TN by a Colonel Nathaniel Bedford Forest who became the leader, the Grand Wizard

The KKK is named after the Greek word kyklos, or circle & the English word, clan

The KKK was powerful force in opposing Reconstruction, terrorizing blacks & whites w/ beatings, torture, lynchings, & murder

The early Klan under Forest was more concerned w/ preventing domination by the North, & opposing reconstruction & less focused on race based vigilante terrorism

After Forest the Klan became primarily an instrument of maintaining racial segregation & inequality

Klan members, who believed in the superiority of whites, soon began to terrorize blacks to keep them from voting or exercising the other rights they had gained during Reconstruction, the period following the end of the American Civil War in 1865

The Klan threatened, beat, & murdered many blacks & their white sympathizers in the So

The KKK spread rapidly throughout the So US & became known as the Invisible Empire & its attacks helped drive blacks out of So political life

Lynch mob violence became an integral part of the post Reconstruction system of So white supremacy

But from 1882 to 1930 there were over 3,000 lynchings of So blacks

In 1871, Congress passed the Force Bill, which gave the President the authority to use fed troops against the Klan

The KKK was weakened when fed troops arrested hundreds of members, & the KKK nearly disappeared

2. THE ANTI IMMIGRATION ERA OF THE KKK

The 2nd Era of the KKK was the Anti Immigration Era, 1915 to 1944

In 1915, William J. Simmons, a former Methodist clergyman, organized a new Klan in Atlanta, GA, as a patriotic, Protestant fraternal society

The KKK was revived in 1915 & grew in response to growing anti immigration sentiment & the mvmt of rural Southern blacks to Northern cities

The KKK's anti immigration violence during the 1920 reflected a trend of anti immigration or Nativist mvmt in the US

The Klan targeted its activities against grps it considered un-American, including blacks, immigrants, Jews, & particularly Roman Catholics

A great wave of immigration began in the 1820s when over 3 mm immigrants, mostly Catholic, came to the US

The American Party formed into a strong nativist Party

The KKK grew rapidly & by the mid 1920s had more than 2 million members throughout the country

Mob violence occurred against Roman Catholics & other immigrants btwn 1850 & 1880

American Party members frequently answered "I don't know" when asked about nativist policies & attacks & thus became known as "The Know Nothing Party"

Some Klan members burned crosses & whipped, tortured, & murdered people whose activities angered them, but most relied on peaceful means

By electing public officials, the Klan became a powerful political force throughout the South & also in many No & Western states, including CO, IN, KS, ME, OH, & OR

However, public criticism of Klan violence & quarrels among Klan leaders weakened the org

By the 1930s, only local Klan grps in the So remained strong & the org died out again in 1944

3. THE DESEGREGATION / CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE KKK

The 3rd Era of the KKK was the Desegregation / Civil Rights Era, the late 1940s to the early 1970s

Samuel Green, an Atlanta physician, revived the Klan in 1946

Green died in 1949, & the Klan then split into many competing groups; however, all of the groups opposed racial integration

The KKK faded in the 1930s but revived after the Brown v. Board of Ed Decision, 1954, banned school segregation

For the next decade the KKK attacked many So blacks & civil rights activists

Increased civil rights activities during the 1960s brought a new wave of Klan violence

Klan members were involved in many terrorist attacks, including the killing of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, & the bombing of a Birmingham, AL, church in which four black girls were killed

President Lyndon B. Johnson used the FBI to probe the Klan

Some members were sent to prison, & membership fell to about 5,000 by the early 1970s

4. THE POST CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE KKK

The 4th Era of the KKK is the Post Civil Rights Era, since the mid 1970s

Beginning in the mid 1970s, new leaders tried to give a more respectable image to competing Klan grps

Some accepted women as members & set up youth grps

The KKK especially appealed to whites who resented both special programs designed to help blacks & job competition from blacks & recent immigrants

Also in the 1970s, it largely abandoned its opposition to Roman Catholics

In 1979, Klan members & their supporters killed five anti Klan demonstrators in Greensboro, North Carolina

The KKK had somewhat of a revival w/ the deindustrialization of the 80s

Klan membership rose to about 10,000 by 1980

The KKK still attracted people w/ extreme views who often used violence

Klan members murdered a black youth in Mobile, AL, in 1981

The militia mvmt grew ( not all are racist ) & found common interest w/ the KKK

Since then, declining interest in the Klan & some prosecutions for illegal activities have reduced KKK membership to about 6,000 & most of these members live in the So

Today, vigilantism takes the form of hate crime

Over 100 people died of hate crimes from 1990 to 1995

Modern vigilantism focuses on blacks, other people of color, Jews, gays, freedom of choice advocates, anti-gun advocates, govt officials, etc.

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Outline on Bono
1960 -

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- Biography & Major Works

Paul David Hewson (born 10 May ), known as Bono, is the lead singer & principal lyricist of the Irish rock band U2

Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, & is an Academy Award nominee & Grammy winner

MOTIVATION

In a 1986 interview w/ Rolling Stone magazine Bono explained that he was motivated to become involved in social & political causes by seeing one of the benefit shows staged by Monty Python's John Cleese & producer Martin Lewis for the human rights org Amnesty Intl in 1979

"I saw 'The Secret Policeman's Ball' & it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..."

In 2001 Bono arranged for U2 to videotape a special live performance for that year's Amnesty benefit show

Introducing the performance, Bono referred to The Secret Policeman's Ball as "a mysterious & extraordinary event that certainly changed my life..."

Bono & U2 performed on Amnesty Intl's Conspiracy Of Hope tour of the US in 1986 alongside Sting

EARLY HUMANITARIAN WORK

In 1984, U2 performed in the Band Aid & Live Aid projects organized by Bob Geldof

Bono sang on the Band Aid single "Do They Know it's Christmas? / Feed the World" (a role that was reprised on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single of the same name)

Geldof & Bono later collaborated to organize the 2005 Live 8 project where U2 also performed

DEBT RELIEF & AIDS

Bono's work is esp important & effective because he focuses not only issues like famine & AIDS, but he focused on root econ causes, & he sough to estb programs that were efficient & long term

Since 1999, Bono has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third world debt relief & raising awareness of the plight of Africa including the AIDS pandemic

In the past decade Bono has met w/ several influential politicians including US President George W. Bush & Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin

During a March 2002 visit to the White House, after President Bush unveiled a $5 billion aid package to Africa, he accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn

He stated, "This is an important first step, & a serious & impressive new level of commitment. ... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis."

In May of that year, Bono took US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill on a 4 country tour of Africa

In 2005 Bono spoke on CBC Radio alleging Prime Minister Martin was being slow about increasing Canada's foreign aid

Bono spoke in advance of President Bush at the 54th Annual National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel on 2 February 2006

In a speech peppered w/ biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially & economically depressed

His comments included a call for an extra 1% "tithe" of the US's national budget

He brought his Christian views into harmony w/ other faiths by noting that Christian, Jewish, & Muslim writings all call for the care of the widow, orphan, & stranger

Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes

Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa (DATA) was established in 2002 by Bono & Bobby Shriver, along w/ activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt Campaign

Some of DATA's goals are to eradicate poverty & HIV/AIDS in Africa

DATA encourages Americans to contact senators & other legislators & elected officials to voice their opinions

In early 2005, Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, & NY based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line EDUN in an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade

EDUN's goal is to use factories in Africa, So Am, & India that provide fair wages to workers & practice good business ethics to create a business model that will encourage investment in developing nations

PRODUCT RED

Product Red is an initiative begun by Bono & Bobby Shriver to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria

Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand

Product Red is a brand which is licensed to partner companies such as American Express, Apple Computer, Converse, Motorola, The Gap & Giorgio Armani

Each company will create a product w/ the Product Red logo & a percentage of the profits from the sale of these labeled products will go to the Global Fund

HONORS

In 2004 Bono was awarded the Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour from the Government of Chile

Time named Bono one of the "100 Most Influential People" in their May 2004 special issue

In 2005 Bono was named by Time as a Person of the Year along w/ Bill & Melinda Gates, who have also become important social change entrepreneurs

In December 2006, Bono was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen of Britain, at the British Embassy in Dublin for "his services to the music industry & for his humanitarian work"

CRITICISMS

Bono has also drawn some criticism from newspaper columnist George Monbiot, political activist Bianca Jagger & others for getting too close to those in power & therefore running the risk of legitimizing their actions & "trying to patent the language of poverty reduction"

The Product RED initiative, partly founded by Bono, w/ an estimated promotional budget of $75 million has raised $18 million as of April 2007 for the cause, but the goal of the initiative is to provide long term, sustainable funds

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Bono

1960 -

Paul David Hewson was raised in Dublin alongside his brother, Norman Hewson, by his mother, Iris Rankin Hewson, a Protestant, & his father, Brendan Robert "Bob" Hewson, a Roman Catholic. Bono was 14 when his mother died on 10 September 1974 of a cerebral aneurysm at her father's funeral. Bono is married to Alison Hewson. The couple has four children.

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Major Works of Bono

Songs: "I Will Follow", "Mofo", "Out of Control", & "Tomorrow"

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Outline on Wangari Muta Maathai

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INTRODUCTION

Maathai is an environmental & political activist

In 2004 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy & peace, " the 1st African woman to receive the award

The Hon. Dr. Maathai is also an elected member of Parliament & served as Assistant Minister for Environment & Natural Resources in the govt of President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya, btwn January 2003 & November 2005

THE GREEN BELT MVMT

In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Mvmt, a grassroots envl non govt org (NGO), which has now planted over 30 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion

She has come to be affectionately called "Tree Woman"

Maathai's envl activism is esp noteworthy because she combined envl concern w/ the empowerment of women & the improvement of the econ in her tree planting program

In her society, & many other tradl societies women have few opportunities other than to raise a family & obey their men

In her society, years of over grazing & poor land stewardship had degraded the env

The degradation of the env had impoverished the families who depended on it for their livelihood

By encouraging women to plant trees on their own, & by finding funding to support tree planting, the Green Belt Mvmt gave women economically viable opportunities when the land the trees they planted 'recovered' so that they could raise crops & herds

In 1989 Maathai almost single handedly saved Nairobi's Uhuru Park by stopping the construction by Moi's business associates of the 60 story Kenya Times Media Trust business complex

She has been the Assist Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources & Wildlife since 2003

She founded the Mazingira Green Party of Kenya in 2003

In November 2006, she spearheaded the UN's Billion Tree Campaign

In January 2007 Maathai will host the Global Young Greens conference in Nairobi, where more than 120 young delegates of environmental, civil rights, peace, & social justice youth movements as well as youth organizations of green parties from all over the world are expected to come

In 2008, she will co host the Global Greens Nairobi conference, which is expected to draw over 1,000 Greens from dozens of Green Parties around the planet

OTHER ACTIVISM

Maathai has been increasingly active on both envl & women's issues

Maathai was also the former chairperson of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, the National Council of Women of Kenya

In the 1980s her husband Mwangi Mathai, a politician whom she had married in 1969, divorced her, saying she was too strong minded for a woman, & that he was unable to control her

The judge in the divorce case agreed w/ the husband, & Wangari was put in jail for speaking out against the judge, who then decreed that she must drop her husband's surname

In defiance, Wangari chose to add an extra "a" instead

During the regime of President Daniel Arap Moi, she was imprisoned several times & violently attacked for demanding multi party elections & an end to political corruption & tribal politics

In 1997, in Kenya's second multi party elections marred by ethnic violence, she ran for the country's presidency, but her party w/drew her candidacy

Nevertheless, she was a minor candidate among several contenders

In 2002 Maathai was elected to parliament when the National Rainbow Coalition, which she represented, defeated the ruling party, the Kenya African National Union

On 28 March 2005, she was elected as the 1st president of the African Union's Economic, Social & Cultural Council

In 2006 she was 1 of the 8 flag bearers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

Also on May 21, 2006 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by & gave the commencement address at Connecticut College

On January 28, 2007, Maathai returned to Benedictine College for the first time in over 15 years & spoke to the students at her alma mater

THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Upon awarding Maathai the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, the Nobel Committee said, "Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression—nationally & internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights & has especially encouraged women to better their situation."

Maathai, also won the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, because "Maathai stood up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya"

CRITICISMS

Maathai caused a stir among media commentators when, at a press conference following the announcement of the Nobel award, she allegedly spoke out in favor of the claim that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was the product of bio-engineering, & then released in Africa by unidentified Western scientists as a weapon of mass destruction to "punish blacks."

The claim is supported by only a small minority, & is one of many AIDS conspiracy theories

She has since clarified her position, saying:
“ I have warned people against false beliefs & misinformation such as attributing this disease to a curse from God or believing that sleeping w/ a virgin cures the infection. These prevalent beliefs in my region have led to an upsurge in rape & violence against children. It is w/in this context, also complicated by the cultural & religious perspective that I often speak. I have therefore been shocked by the ongoing debate, generated by what I am purported to have said. It is therefore critical for me to state that I neither say nor believe that the virus was developed by white people or white powers in order to destroy the African people. Such views are wicked & destructive."

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Wangari Muta Maathai

1940 -

Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Ihithe village, Tetu division, Nyeri District of Kenya. She is of Kikuyu ethnicity.

She attended primary school in in Limuru, Kenya. She attended universities in the US & Germany to earn a BS & a Masters in biology. At the University of Nairobi, she earned the a PhD in veterinary medicine; the first awarded to an Eastern African woman. She became professor of veterinary anatomy at the University of Nairobi, & then later dean of the faculty. In 2002 Maathai accepted a position as Visiting Fellow at Yale University's Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry.

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Major Works of Maathai

Her autobiography, Unbowed: One Woman's Story, was released in September 30, 2006

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Outline on Nelson Mandela
1918 -

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OVERVIEW: MANDELLA WAS FIRST AN INSURGENT, THEN A PRISONER, THEN PRESIDENT & NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER, & THEN AN INTL PEACE BROKER

Mandela was president of So Africa from 1994 to 1999 & he was the country's first black president

Mandela was elected by the country's National Assembly which had been chosen in So Africa's first elections in which the country's blacks were allowed to vote

He was the first president to be elected in fully representative democratic elections in So Africa

Blacks won a majority of the Assembly seats, & the Assembly selected Mandela as president

These developments marked the beginning of a new era in So Africa, resulting in blacks gaining control of the govt after a long period of domination by the white minority

Since 1991, Mandela had served as president of the African National Congress (ANC), a largely black group that opposed the So African govt's policy of rigid racial segregation called apartheid

He had long been a leader of protests against apartheid & was imprisoned in 1962 on charges of conspiring to overthrow the white minority govt

While in prison, he became a symbol of the struggle for racial justice

After being freed in 1990, he led negotiations w/ white leaders that eventually brought an end to apartheid & established a nonracial system of govt

Mandela & then President F. W. de Klerk of So Africa won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize

Mandela & de Klerk were honored for their work to end apartheid & to enable the country's non whites to fully participate in the So African govt

IN EARLY LIFE, MANDELLA BECAME A LAWYER

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Umtata, in the Transkei territory of So Africa

His father was a chief of the Xhosa speaking Tembu tribe

Mandela gave up his right to succeed his father & instead prepared for a legal career

He attended the Un College of Fort Hare, studied law by correspondence at Witwatersrand Un, & received a law degree from the Un of So Africa in 1942

That year, in Soweto, he & a friend opened the first black law partnership in So Africa

MANDELLA WAS IMPRISONED FOR HIS ROLE AGAINST APARTHEID & WAS ACCUSED OF TERRORISM

Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti apartheid activist & leader of the African National Congress (ANC)

Mandela joined the ANC in 1944 & helped form the organization's Youth League

In 1948, the So African govt established its policy of apartheid

The ANC called for equality for all races & began leading open resistance to the govt

In 1956, the govt charged Mandela w/ treason & other serious crimes, but he was found not guilty in 1961

The govt had outlawed the ANC in 1960, but Mandela renewed the protests & went into hiding

He was arrested in 1962, convicted of sabotage & conspiracy, & sentenced to life in prison

Mandela had been involved in guerilla warfare & sabotage

While Mandela was in prison, growing antiapartheid forces in So Africa argued that he should be freed

He saw his wife only three times over the next 27 yrs

His wife at that time, Winnie Mandela, became a leading spokesperson for his cause

Through his 27 years in prison, much of it spent in a cell on Robben Island, Mandela became the most widely known figure in the struggle against apartheid

Among opponents of apartheid in So Africa & internationally, he became a cultural icon of freedom & equality

The apartheid govt & nations sympathetic to it condemned him & the ANC as communists & terrorists, & he became a figure of hatred among many So African whites, supporters of apartheid, & opponents of the ANC

Shortly before Mandela's release in 1990, the govt recognized the ANC as a legal political org

WHILE THE BATTLE TO END APARTHEID HAD VIOLENT EPISODES, THE END OF WHITE RULE CAME THROUGH THE BALLOT BOX

Following his release from prison in 1990, his switch to a policy of reconciliation & negotiation helped lead the transition to multi racial democracy in So Africa

After leaving prison, Mandela agreed to suspend an armed struggle the ANC had been waging against the So African govt

Over the objections of more radical ANC members, he urged conciliation w/ So African President de Klerk & other govt leaders

He sought to obtain political power for the country's blacks in a peaceful way

In 1990 & 1991, the govt repealed the laws that formed the legal basis of apartheid

But Mandela also negotiated an end to other forms of racial injustice, including laws that denied blacks the right to vote in national & provincial elections

The first truly open national elections in which all races could vote were held in April 1994

The ANC won a majority of the seats in the country's National Assembly, & Mandela became president

Mandela stepped down as head of the ANC in 1997 & in 1999, he retired as president of So Africa

In 1992, Mandela announced that he & his wife, Winnie, had agreed to separate The couple was divorced in 1996

In 1998, Mandela & Graca Machel, the widow of President Somora Machel of Mozambique, were married

Since the end of apartheid, he has been widely praised, even among white So Africans & former opponents

In So Africa he is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan, & the title has come to be synonymous w/ Nelson Mandela

POST SO AFRICAN ACTIVITY IS NOTED FOR THE PROCESS OF RECONCILIATION WHICH BROUGHT JUSTICE & FORGIVENESS FOR DECADES OF APARTHEID

Mandela has received more than one hundred awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993

He is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues

Since he gave up the presidency of So Africa, Mandela has become an independent global diplomat, intervening in troubled spots around the world

Mandela & been an important spokesperson in the fight against AIDS & in 2003, Mandela lent his weight to the 46664 campaign against AIDS, named after his prison number

Prior to 2003, he actively opposed the US invasion of Iraq

Mandela has intervened & reduced the production & sale of 'blood diamonds,' i.e. those diamonds produced under inhumane conditions & sold & traded to finance dictatorships & war

Mandela has tried to moderate the activities of Robert Mugabe, the dictator of Zimbabwe who has killed over 20 K of his people, but Mugabe remains in power

In 2007, Mandela, former President Jimmy Carter & other world leaders met w/ Sudanese leaders to try & broker an end to the civil warfare in Darfur

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Nelson Mandela

1918 -

Born to a tribal family, Mandela was educated in a missionary school. He became active in the 1940s, opposing the apartheid system imposed by the So African govt. He was arrested & spent 27 yrs in prison, where never the less he became a leader & continued to press for freedom. After his release he guided So Africa into a climate of reconciliation & the dissolution of apartheid. He then became President of So Africa & advanced the social & econ development of his nation. He continues to act as a global statesman

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Major Works of Mandela

Nelson Mandela; Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela; Little Brown & Co; ISBN 0-316-54818-9 (paperback, 1995)

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