By Judy Sikuza
Tata Madiba’s birthday celebrations resulted in a New York City that was heavily infected with a fever. This was not the superfluous kind such as the swine flu which causes debilitation but rather the kind that everyone coveted to be infected with. The Mandela Day celebrations were like a fever that permeated the Big Apple unlike any event I have seen since the Obama elections. Copious articles have already been written about the events that occurred, hence I will not sermonise on these particulars. As someone who was fortunate enough to meet and converse with some of the performers at the VIP after-party, I would like to share my unadulterated view of the passion for human rights advocacy that exists among these renowned people. Moreover, I wish to show you the human side of these venerated stars and hope that you are inspired to realise that even you can be as impactful as they are, through your own unique talents.
Although I would have loved to have met everyone there, my approach was to go for magical substance (quality), rather than measurable ephemeral encounters (quantity). I really wanted to have genuine, lengthy conversations with these icons, because after all, they are also humans and I wanted to see that side of them. Some of the people that I was fortunate enough to have this experience with were the following: Josh Groban, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Cyndi Lauper, Loyiso Bala, Sipho Mabuse, Vusi Mahlasela, Thandiswa Mazwai, Minki van der Westhuizen, David Kau, Christian Syren, Ambassador Baso Sangqu, Ian Glenday, Shaun Johnson, Achmat Dangor and Lynne Kraselsky — ESPN senior vice-president of international advertising and sponsorship sales.
While each encounter with the above was unique in and of itself, a common theme existed. All these distinguished people had a genuine desire to make a positive contribution in the world through their respective professions. What I appreciated even more was how down to earth they were. I still cannot believe that I was taking those crazy “make a face pictures” with Morgan Freeman and Vusi Mahlasela, eating and conversing with Thandiswa Mazwai in my mother tongue, Xhosa, discussing future lunch plans with Ambassador Baso Sangqu and his wife, listening and jamming to some of the best music from South Africa with Christian Syren, playing tickle with Josh Groban as well as singing Miriam Makeba’s “The Click Song” with a group of rather merry stars at 2am on Sunday morning!
My incredible encounters, however, were not only limited to the well-known stars, but also with the up-and-coming future leaders of tomorrow. We all got to share some of our passions and the plans we had to make a difference in the world. It brought such joy to know that there is a large pool of young leaders out there who are educating and preparing themselves for the task ahead of making a difference.
The Mandela Day celebrations were truly celebrations of human rights advocacy through music. The songs the musicians sang that night were a call for us to take the opportunity to make an imprint, as it really is in our hands to make our world a better place. What made that call more authentic for me was that the musicians emanated that desire in their personal interactions off stage as well.
Not to take away the due glory from these stars, but I definitively learnt something that night. These stars are human just like all of us. What differentiates them from the rest of us is that they believed enough in themselves, were willing to take that risk or make that sacrifice in order to be who they have always wanted to be. As a young person who desires to make a difference through my interests, I was inspired to realise this. If I want to make a mammoth impact in the world that will result in more justice and equal opportunities for all, then the manifestation of that desire will depend on how much I long for it to come into fruition. President Barack Obama alluded to this exact sentiment during his video message to the crowd during the concert.
I will leave you with the ubiquitous but germane quote by Marianne Williamson which was used by Mr Nelson Mandela in his speech. I believe that it is a very relevant quote in the spirit of the 46664 slogan: “make an imprint”. My hope is that we all heed to this calling as we recognise that the greatness is inside each and every one of us. We can all carry the baton that Mr Mandela has passed onto us if we just believe enough in ourselves and then live out that greatness.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Judy Sikuza is busy with her master’s degree at Columbia University in New York. She finds delight and value in learning from those who are different from her. Besides dreaming of becoming a rock star, her pursuit to effect change lies in her five seemingly dichotomous passions: business, sport, drama, politics and education. She has, however, realised that the specificity of the medium is not important since there is a common vision behind all her passions. This vision is to advocate for basic human rights as well as facilitate equal opportunity forums that will empower people to reach their full potential.
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