[identity profile] ms-erupt.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] 50books_poc
05. Nelson Mandela, Speeches 1990: Intensify the Struggle to Abolish Apartheid by Nelson Mandela; Greg McCartan
Pages: 74
Genre(s): Non-fiction; World History; World Politics; African History; African Studies
Rating: 8/10; Would Recommend

This is another in the series of books that a friend sent me a while back. This one was particularly interesting for me to read because I hadn't read/heard many of Mandela's speeches before, and so a lot of what I read was somewhat new to me.

Again, it's a thin paperback of selected speeches from, as the title indicates, right after he was released from prison but before the apartheid regime "officially" came to an end. It's a great starting place for those who aren't as familiar with Mandela as they'd like to be as there's a lot of ground covered in such a small number of pages. There are several speeches with similair themes, that being mostly that the struggle continues and that there must be a total overhaul of the systems that allow apartheid and racist policies to flourish, namely by direct confrontation, whether that be peaceful or otherwise (I am GROSSLY oversimplifying here; but that's the gist as I understand it).

I think my favorite one to read was one titled, "We must end the old social order and bring in a new one" in which he addresses South African business executives. It's probably not one of his most famous speeches, but I like that he spoke directly to the monied interests of South Africa (those that attended anyhow) and spoke on things such as the terrible legacy of a variety of -isms in South Africa (i.e. imperialism; capitalism; colonialism) and how these businesses could help remedy the situation.

I also like that the end of the book has a transcription of The Freedom Charter, the principles and changes to which the African National Congress has dedicated itself.

Overall, it was a greatly inspiring and informative read, and I recommend it to anyone who want to start taking a look into South African or African History and Nelson Mandela.

Comments may contain spoilers.
(will be screened)
(will be screened if not validated)
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

Profile

50books_poc: (Default)
Writers of Color 50 Books Challenge

August 2024

S M T W T F S
     123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 12th, 2025 07:32 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios