• Home
  • Our Shop
  • About Us
    • About MKB
    • Our Shop
    • MKB Board
    • Editorial Board and MKB Administrators
    • Our Contributors
    • For Bloggers: Join MKB
    • Books and Products from Our Members
    • Cultural Resources
    • Contact Us
  • Product Promotion Services
  • Blog Hops & Series
    • Holidays Around the World
      • Martin Luther King Day
      • Chinese New Year
      • Purim
      • Passover
      • Easter Around the World
      • Ramadan
      • Hajj (Eid al Adha)
      • Rosh Hashanah
      • Day of the Dead
      • Diwali
      • Hanukkah
      • Christmas in Different Lands
    • Heritage Months
      • Black History Month
      • Women’s History Month
      • Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month
      • Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month
      • Hispanic Heritage Month
      • Native American Heritage Month
    • Blogging Carnivals
    • Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop
    • Global Learning for Kids
  • Resources for Raising Global Citizens
  • Privacy Policy
  • Hanukkah
  • Christmas
  • Celebrate Christmas Around the World!

Multicultural Kid Blogs

For families and educators raising world citizens, through arts, activities, crafts, food, language, and love.

Musical Tribute to an Inspirational Man: Nelson Mandela

July 16, 2014 by Elika Mahony

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

July 18th is Nelson Mandela Day, the celebration of one of the most inspirational persons of the century. Mandela spent 27 years in prison under the apartheid government of South Africa. While in prison, he meditated and reflected upon the hatred and discrimination that held the people of South Africa captive. Mandela understood that it was only through love, forgiveness and the power of personal example that people could be liberated from this most grievous of prisons, and he dedicated his life to ending prejudice and injustice in all its forms.

When he was released from jail, 100,000 people gathered to celebrate his freedom. A few years later, in 1993, Mandela was given the Nobel Peace Prize, and in the following year he was elected the first Black African president of South Africa. As President, he worked to promote the unity of all South Africans – whether black, white or other background – as he believed that in the eyes of God all were equal. Although Mandela passed away on December 5th, 2013, at the age of 95, his spirit lives on everywhere. His life and legacy are a testament to what one person, relying upon the power of faith and love, can achieve.

When Mandela passed away, I felt the best way I could pay tribute to him is through music. Nelson Mandela found great solace in the poem ‘Invictus’ (Latin for undefeated) during the 27 years he was in prison. Written by William Henley in 1875, I felt inspired to set the poem to music.  You can listen to the piece here.

My son Taraz also created a video for the song, you can view it here.

Nelson Mandela collage

Some inspirational quotations by Nelson Mandela:

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

You can also read our earlier tribute to Nelson Mandela, written after his passing.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather
The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Instagram profileMy Pinterest profileMy Tumblr blogMy YouTube channelMy Vimeo channel

Elika Mahony

Vocalist, composer, pianist, and artist, I consider myself a world citizen; my parents are from Iran, I was born in the US, raised in Kenya, and now live in China. In between I have lived in Israel and Hong Kong. As well as a love for creating music, I am passionate about making crafts, designing, painting and organising.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Instagram profileMy Pinterest profileMy Tumblr blogMy YouTube channelMy Vimeo channel

Latest posts by Elika Mahony (see all)

  • Baha’i Fast: The Gift of Fasting - March 11, 2016
  • Musical Tribute to an Inspirational Man: Nelson Mandela - July 16, 2014

Filed Under: Black History, South Africa Tagged With: inspirational music, Mandela Day, Nelson Mandela

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Comments

  1. Bronwyn Joy says

    July 17, 2014 at 8:32 am

    A great man. I think one of the MCK Bloggers put us on to The Soccer Fence which we’ve been reading, so Mandela has been talked about in our house this week.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on Instagram

Anti-Bullying Resource FREE Download

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Grab Our Button!

grab button for Multicultural Kid Blogs
<div class="multicultural-kid-blogs-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img src="https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/button-take-3.jpg" alt="Multicultural Kid Blogs" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div>
Multicultural Children's Book Day Co-Host

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.