A Conversation With Ndaba Mandela: What Can We Do To Ensure a Future We Deserve I Published December 15

By: Courtney-Joy Breeden

During the week of November 11, Kean University introduced its Human Rights Fellow, the South African activist and grandson of Nelson Mandela, Ndaba Mandela.

Mandela’s eloquent and inspiring speeches throughout the week spotlighted the cultural shift happening here in the United States. 

In light of the Presidential election, many students were left with the question, What do we do now and how can we do it?

In this short interview with The Tower, Mandela gives college students advice on how they can unify and fight for what they are passionate about. 

With over 300 organizations with several events a week encouraging student involvement, networking and community, Kean students seem to stay hopeful for the future, but with feeling of hopelessness many students feel regarding the political state of the US, along with much of the technological innovation like AI chatbots and even robots which can encourage a reluctance to learn, they may not know where exactly to start. 

“We need to support our local markets, we need to bring back the household farmers, we need to bring back the small enterprises, we need to support growing businesses and entrepreneurs who are coming in, those are the people we need to support,” Mandela states that there are people out there who align themselves with the ideals you may already have and that they should not go ignored. Why focus so much on those who are unmotivated when there people who are willing to do the work?

Mandela also stated that education is crucial, through it we learn history, civics and many other important subjects that are the foundation for understanding the world around us. 

“Look at Florida, they have a government that is passing a law that there will be no African studies taught at their schools, that is a violation of human rights, how can you say people cannot learn about their history,” he said. “I think [education] is critically important… if we cannot agree on the facts of the past, there is no way we can move toward the future.” 

He placed a lot of emphasis on voting, speaking of the millions of people who don’t vote in elections for any political office and telling students to be aware of what is taking place in politics.

“You need to vote, you need to speak up and you need to be there!” he urged.

Mandela briefly addresses the rise in misinformation and disinformation. He says that having conversations with one another is important and that community is all about supporting and protecting each other but that we can not possibly make it anywhere if mass media becomes the focus of our lives. He speaks about the algorithm, which has become a trending topic in recent years due to various studies and documentaries and how many of us have fallen victim to the trap of personally tailored media.

“How do we live in our own virtual worlds and the current reality together when everyone doesn’t see the same thing online?” he said.

He also mentions that there are times when the media which has been said to be made for the people can sometimes turn against the oppressed and neglect to tell the full story, because of this, he expresses that students need to become mindful of what they read and where they get their information from. He even encourages students to get into the world and get the truth for themselves.

“We need to make sure we have alternative sources of information and media, it can’t just be the big conglomerates, ABC and them or FOX and them. We need to make sure that we have independent newsmakers… everything is up to us! Put down those Playstations, put down that Snapchat and get involved in your community.”

Mandela also goes on to quote writer Edgar Allen Poe to further his stance.

“Believe nothing you hear and only one half that you see.”

But this is only part of what will push forward the change this generation of leaders want. 

Mandela has placed a huge emphasis on the importance of community.

He affirms that although people outside of your community may need the support, there is no better place to start than with what you know and who is may even just be right next to you.

“Know your neighbor! How about we start an initiative going to every household in your street, making sure that if there’s old people that live there that have your number so that if they need something as simple as a lightbulb change, they can call you,” he said.

Mandela says that putting work in your community allows students to understand who their biggest supporters will be. There is still much work to be done and students like the ones at Kean keep him hopeful. He encourages students to be doers and not to wait and see if somebody will do it first because only this generation–Gen Z–understands what it needs. He advises students to know the depths of what goes into structuring and leading a community of people through politics because that is how you understand what you need to do to organize and lead.

“Young people need to understand, the change is not going to come if you, yourself are not in the change, making the change, spreading the change you know?” he stated, ”if you want to make change you have to be the ones who actually go in there and say no this does not serve our community, this does not serve the people that are 25 and younger or 35 and younger this doesn’t relate to us. Those old guys don’t know what affects you and what your challenges are.” 

Mandela then makes it a point to state that cultivating community, organizing and beginning human rights and social justice initiatives always begins with the question of who you desire to help and how you can help them.

“I think the first thing to do is to choose which area where you want to make a difference. Are you going to help orphans? Are you going to help people of old age? Are you going to help HIV/AIDs victims? Are you helping schools where people can’t afford proper resources? Who are you helping? What is your cause? Who do you stand for?” he said.

Without understanding your focus, you can lose sight of the desired result and so he encourages students to have unwavering courage and passion for what they do and believe in and to recognize that all change begins with the simplest things, whether it be a question or a dream.

“I am a dreamer, it all started with dreams,” he said. “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”

He talks of figures like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X who were all dreamers who publicly spoke out about corruption and discrimination in the US and South Africa. He urged students to take back their humanity and to always depend on each other and the teachings of the activists before them because their fight is a blueprint for their own. 

“Let’s follow the footsteps of our old heroes,” he said. “ They were all dreamers who sought change like many of you.”

He confirms that like the leaders of the past, all leaders have dreamt and had goals and he motivates the dreamer to not just continue dreaming but to lead. While he remembers the works of his grandfather and his own experience in advocating for the end of the stigma on HIV/AIDs he works out the characteristics of a true leader.

“A leader is not somebody who is number one, a leader is not somebody who is the best, a leader is somebody who serves,” he states.

So what can students do to ensure a future they deserve and how? The answer seems complex but at it’s base it is to denounce individualism and embrace a more collectivist culture, listen to the wisdom of those who have fought in the past, remember and know the history that got you here, stay aware, be present and continue to press forward.

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