Friday Afternoon Diversion: Farewell, Madiba

By Kevin Robinson in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 13, 2013 9:00PM

The song being performed in this video is Johnny Clegg's "Asimbonanga" ("We haven't seen him"), released in 1987, which called for the release of Nelson Mandela. The song also calls out the names of three martyrs of the South African struggle for liberation—Stephen Biko, Victoria Mxenge, and Neil Aggett. As a result, in apartheid South Africa Clegg and his band members were routinely arrested and harassed and had their concerts broken up.

One important thing to note in this video is how much modern South Africa is made up of people of different races that identify both with Mandela and as South Africans. Thanks to the deliberate efforts of Mandela and other ANC leaders to build a nation founded on reconciliation and equality, today's South Africa is one of unity and progress, not division and retribution.