Nelson Mandel, South Africa’s Freedom Fighter
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), age 95 years, Freedom Fighter, Champion of Human Dignity, a son of South Africa who became South Africa’s first Black President and Global Icon, passed away peacefully in the company of family members at his home in South Africa on December 5, 2013.
Mandela’s leadership in his non-violent anti-apartheid movement that resulted in his incarceration on Robin Island, South Africa for 27 years was not about power, but love for his people, freedom, human rights, and democracy against the minority white oligarchy rule.
James “Dick” Richards overcame the loss of his parents at an early age and a childhood of poverty in his native Jamaica to become one of Bermuda’s richest black men, 1872-1965.
As the people in South Africa and the world mourns the passing of Nelson Mandela, Beersheba Old Students Association (BOSA) which has its genesis in James “Dick” Richards (1872-1965), Beersheba Primary School Alumnus, Soldier, Self-made Businessman, Philanthropist, Icon, and Legend, the Association joins in the ten (10) days of official mourning that the Government of South Africa has declared. In doing so, in the same way that the Association reflects on Mandela’s struggle against white minority oligarchy rule in South Africa, it also reflects on the fact that after James “Dick” Richards escaped poverty in the impoverished poverty stricken peasant farming Carr District, New Market, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica West Indies where he was born in search of a better life, after being honorably discharged from the British West India Regiment in Bermuda, James “Dick” Richards had his personal struggles with white minority oligarchy rule in Bermuda. Nevertheless, James “Dick” Richards became the first black man to be granted a hotel license under the white minority oligarchy rule where he worked assiduously to become one of the wealthiest black men in Bermuda and one of the Principal Shareholders in Bermuda National Bank.
Like Nelson Mandela, the Global Icon, James “Dick” Richards who forgave his enemies who did him evil, became a Philanthropist whose life has made a significant impact on the lives of several poverty stricken Bermudians as well as people from his native Carr District which is a part of Beersheba Primary School (Government Leased) Community, New Market, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica West Indies.
May the souls of these two Global Icons and Legends, rest in peace and may light perpetual continue to shine on them as they are remembered for their legacy that they have given to the world.
Recent Comments