As part of International Education Week, MSU Center for African Studies professor John Metzler, guest lecturer, presents “The Legacy of Nelson Mandela” on Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 5:30- 6:30 pm in Osterlin, room 203.
Mandela, 95, is the iconic activist who spent 28 years in South African prisons for protesting and fighting to change apartheid, the country’s system of white minority rule. He went on to become South Africa’s first democratically-elected president, serving from 1994-99.Metzler, who has lived and worked in southern Africa since 1972, will provide a brief introductory overview of South Africa. Joining him in the presentation will be two MSU students:
- Blair Proctor, a doctoral student in African and African-American Studies and sociology. His presentation will provide an overview of racial identity and relations in post-apartheid South Africa.
- Annie Melcher,a recent graduate of MSU’s Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. During her undergraduate studies she participated in a six-week study abroad program and a 15-week internship program in South Africa. Her internship was with a program that provides services for HIV/AIDs orphans and other highly vulnerable children in a high-density township in greater Johannesburg. Her presentation will focus on her work with vulnerable children, highlighting positive avenues for U.S. students to engage in collaborative work with South African partner community-based organizations to address pressing social and economic issues.
The lecture comes just weeks after the South African debut of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” the biopic based on Mandela’s autobiography. President Barack Obama hosted a White House screening of the film on Nov. 7. It will be released in New York and Los Angeles Nov. 29.