what appeared to be insurmountable odds to end apartheid, South Africa's harsh system of white minority rule.
Obama was cheered by thousands in Johannesburg's Wanderers Stadium as he marked the centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth by urging respect for human rights, the free press and other values he said were under threat. He rallied people to keep alive the ideals that the anti-apartheid activist worked for as the first black president of South Africa, including democracy, diversity, gender equality and tolerance.
This was Obama's first trip to Africa since leaving office in 2017. Earlier this week, he stopped in Kenya, where he visited the rural birthplace of his late father. Obama's speech noted how Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years, kept up his campaign against what appeared to be insurmountable odds to end apartheid, South Africa's harsh system of white minority rule.
Mandela, who was released from prison in 1990 and became president four years later, died in 2013 at the age of 95. He left a powerful legacy of reconciliation and diversity along with a resistance to inequality — economic and otherwise.
Since leaving the White House, Obama has shied away from public comment on the Trump administration, which has reversed or attacked his notable achievements. The U.S. under Trump has withdrawn from the 2015 Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal while trying to undercut the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare."
Obama's speech drew on his great admiration for Mandela, a fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner whom America's first black president saw as a mentor. When Obama was a U.S. senator, he had his picture taken with Mandela. After Obama became president he sent a copy of the photo to Mandela, who kept it in his office. Obama also made a point of visiting Mandela's prison cell and gave a moving eulogy at Mandela's memorial service in 2013, saying the South African had inspired him.
Many South Africans view Obama as a successor to Mandela because of his groundbreaking role and his support for racial equality in the U.S. and around the world.
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FACEBOOK COMMENTS
George McDoddy
Mr Endy Edeson are you really well educated? What did he do for Africa? He openly ignored your country and never visited her for once when he was in power not minding the support and prayers given to him by the people and you don’t see this?
Polycarpz Igboon
Impeccable Obama administration