Nelson Mandela, Let Freedom Reign!

With deep respect and admiration the members of Raine Magazine mourn the loss of revolutionary, politician and philanthropist Nelson Mandela. He was an instrument of light and shined brightly against the shadowy darkness that at times inhabits the world.Amid allegations of conspiracy to overthrow the government Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1962. He served more than 27 years in jail before being released due to international pressure calling for his release. Afterwards Mandela worked tirelessly to end the years of destructive apartheid that gripped the region. In 1990 his dream of a Free South Africa was realized with the dismantling of the policies that gave life to apartheid. In doing so he paved the way for South Africa's transition from white minority rule.In 1994 after successful negotiations with then president F.W. de Klerk to open multiracial elections, Mandela led his party the ANC (African National Congress) to victory as South Africa's first black president. In the years that proceeded his victory, Mandela's party worked to encourage new measures to combat poverty, and expand health care services to those in need.For much of his life he was a controversial figure, however in his life and times he has proven as a testimony to the will of humanity that ANYTHING is possible. Nelson Mandela will be missed by the many lives that he has touched but never forgotten."I Learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it," Nelson Mandela July 7, 1918 - December 5, 2013.