In a speech delivered Wednesday for Nelson Mandela Day, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani honored the legacy of Nelson Mandela, urging a deeper commitment to solidarity in a fractured era. Speaking at the launch of the Mandela Foundation Global Leadership Forum, Mamdani emphasized that Mandela’s humanity—not his sainthood—offers a model for contemporary struggles.
Mandela’s Legacy as a Mirror
Mamdani recalled Mandela’s 1990 town hall with ABC News’ Ted Koppel at CUNY’s Aaron Davis Hall, where Mandela faced hostile questions about his support for the Palestinian cause and relationships with U.S. adversaries. “One of the mistakes which some political analysts make is to think that their enemies should be our enemies,” Mandela responded. Mamdani noted that Mandela refused to abandon his principles, stating, “Anybody who changes his principles depending on with whom he is dealing? That is not a man who can lead a nation.”
“Solidarity is not perfection. Solidarity is not purity. Solidarity is people choosing one another, sometimes even over themselves,” Mamdani said, quoting Pope Francis to underscore the discomfort of true solidarity.
Hypocrisy and Historical Revisionism
Mamdani criticized those who now praise Mandela but opposed him in life, citing UK Tories who opposed sanctions in the 1980s but called Mandela a “true global hero” upon his death, and the U.S. government that kept Mandela on terrorist watchlists until 2008. “Justice is not measured by where we stand after history has issued its verdict. It is measured by where we stand when the verdict is still being rendered,” Mamdani said.
He drew parallels to current injustices, asking why we wait to demand freedom for Palestinians, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya (detained for over 18 months), Umar Khalid (six years in Indian prison), and immigrants killed in xenophobic attacks. “Why must we wait to practice solidarity until it no longer costs us anything?”
The Power of Unyielding Solidarity
Mamdani referenced Mandela’s 95 years as proof that solidarity is a strategy, not just a value. “Solidarity is perhaps best nurtured by the conditions that seek to destroy it,” he said, citing workers rising up, citizens linking arms against authoritarians, and every struggle that began when the future felt out of reach. He invoked Martin Luther King Jr.: “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
Mamdani concluded by urging collective action: “It always seems impossible until it’s done. Let us do it together.” The speech marked the launch of the Mandela Foundation Global Leadership Forum, aiming to continue the struggle for dignity that guided Mandela for nearly a century.
