Nelson Mandela will be remembered in Brooklyn.
Mandela admirers, including some activists who knew him, gathered at Boerum Hill’s House of the Lord Church on Sunday to pay tribute to the beloved leader of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
“We wanted to bring together some of the people who were part of the movement,” said Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who led the service. “And we wanted to talk about where do we go from here.”
Daughtry met Mandela through his work on former Mayor David Dinkins’ delegation to South Africa and as part of the American anti-apartheid group that welcomed Mandela to the United States when he was finally released from jail in 1990 after 27 years of imprisonment. The late legend was jailed for his role in leading a revolutionary group seeking to abolish South Africa’s apartheid system of white supremacy. A few years after his release, Mandela became the first black president of the country and dismantled apartheid.
The Brooklyn memorial included choirs, a jazz performance by Randy Weston, and a speech from Daughtry on what Mandela taught the world.
“He sent a message not only to forgive, but how to make your enemies your friends,” Daughtry said.
