July 20th, 2012

Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela!

This week, Nelson Mandela blew out 94 candles on his birthday cake, and the nation celebrated. So did CNN Digital, by asking on social media what the iconic President of South Africa means to you, using a hashtag #MandelaMeans. The response was overwhelming. Madiba, as he’s commonly known, was described by people around the world as “a smart man”, someone who teaches “tolerance, forgiveness and simple kindness”, and the epitome of “quintessential humanity”. Even the U.N. Secretary General wrote a special message to say, “Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to bring change to the people of South Africa.” So if you’re wondering why you heard people say they were going to volunteer for 67 minutes on Wednesday, that’s what that’s all about.

Another poignant Mandela moment occurred in a CNN interview with Bill Clinton. He said that Mandela would call and ask to speak to Chelsea about her schoolwork and her life. Mandela always reminded him that no matter how much power a person attains, they’re always a person first.

CNN also spoke with an author who wrote about Mandela’s life and if you want more photos, there’s a photo gallery of his life, which shows where he grew up and photos of his family.