WINNIE

Greetings Folks,

I was YouTube browsing, as usual, when I came across a documentary about one of the most iconic political figures in history—Winnie Mandela. This 2017 film, entitled WINNIE, takes a look into the freedom struggles of South Africans against Apartheid as well as Mandela’s rise and fall from grace. Her fearlessness and dedication to her people helped seal her position in the history books along with her husband, Nelson Mandela. And she’ll forever be respected for it.

Apartheid in South Africa was a policy, similar to Jim Crow, that separated non-white and white South Africans on the basis of race. It lasted from 1948 to the early 1990s, and Winnie Mandela was one of the freedom fighters who worked to bring it down. While her husband was in jail for 27 years, she fought against the government who controlled her country. As a communist who dedicated her life to dismantling the system, she not only kept the Mandela name alive but helped it become synonymous to Freedom around the globe.

I really enjoyed this documentary, but I was unpleasantly surprised at how identical the narrative is between Black South Africans and Black Americans; especially when it comes to the youth involvement in the struggle. If you’d like to discuss any of the film’s content, please feel free to comment below.