Nearly 9,000 miles separate Minnesota and South Africa, but for filmmaker Gerri Williams, the oppressive apartheid regime of that nation’s government struck close to home.
As a young woman in the 1980s, Williams was active in the anti-apartheid movement—joining a global chorus of voices to end the brutality and release the world’s most legendary political prisoner: Nelson Mandela.
In 2018, Williams convened a series of community events in her hometown of Duluth to commemorate the liberation leader on what would have been his 100th year, to explore the lessons of reconciliation, inclusion and joy that Mandela so famously embodied. A documentary, “Duluth for Mandela: A Northland Celebration,” is the result.
The film chronicles the art, music, dance, and educational programs that brought Duluth together that year—exploring South African history, sampling the country’s cuisine, and moving to the rhythms of a South African choir.
With grants from the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation’s Global Awareness Fund and the Duluth NAACP, Williams and her filmmaking team also interviewed local leaders who provided the context for Mandela’s message and its continued relevance today.
The film was produced at the MMAD studio, located on the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus. It will be screened at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul on Oct. 27.
Attendance is free, but registration is requested.
Contact the Minnesota History Center for more information: 651-259-3000.
“What struck me about Nelson Mandela at the time and now are the three values he reflected in life,” Williams says. She frames the three values as “transforming adversity,” “ubuntu,” and “the value of reconciliation.”
Transforming adversity: “Here’s a man who’d been called a terrorist, been jailed, sentenced—with that sentence carried out in the worst kind of prison. His name was banned. But he transformed that time into study, along with fellow prisoners. They debated. They formed an internal college where they readied themselves to be fit to govern.”
Ubuntu: “This a Zulu word meaning ‘I am a human being through you—and vice versa.’ This is radical empathy, rooted in a deep belief in our common humanity.”
The value of reconciliation: “Not only in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that Mandela authorized, but in his approach—to embrace everybody in South Africa as a multiracial democracy. That saved the country from a blood bath.”
Following the History Center screening of “Duluth for Mandela,” Williams will discuss the film with Carl Crawford, the former human rights officer for the city of Duluth and now the equity and inclusion specialist for St. Louis County.
Crawford recalls the power of those 2018 events through his association with the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, on the site where three Black men were lynched in 1920. As memorial co-chair and a longtime community activist, he notes the power of community to come together and take a stand against injustice.
“The memorial is a site of remembrance. We often get stuck between forgiveness and forgetfulness. As we refocus on the history of the U.S. and of Africa, it’s important we share those stories and remember,” he says.
“Our work is still not complete, and those events were really a call to action to move equity forward,” he continues. “We can never forget Mandela’s life and his legacy. We must remember: Where there is injustice, there is a road to justice. And that road begins with you and I.”
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2-4 p.m.
Minnesota History Center
345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul
651-259-3000
Attendance is free, but registration is requested: mnhs.info/mandela
Cynthia Moothart welcomes reader responses to cmoothart@spokesman-recorder.com.