World leaders and thousands of mourners gathered on Tuesday to commemorate the life of late South Africa President Nelson Mandela.
World leaders and thousands of mourners gathered on Tuesday to commemorate the life of late South Africa President Nelson Mandela.
The civil rights activist died on Thursday at age 95, after surviving 27 years in jail and leading the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa.
President Obama delivered a moving eulogy, calling the legendary leader a “giant of history.”
“Given the sweep of his life, the scope of his accomplishments, the adoration that he so rightly earned, it’s tempting I think to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men,” Obama said. “But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Madiba insisted on sharing with us his doubts and his fears; his miscalculations along with his victories. ”I am not a saint,” he said, “unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”