The announcement made the front page of The Southern Digest
I’m normally not big on the whole celebrity birthday shout out thing but for this occasion I am making an exception.
When I graduated from Southern University way back in 2000, Nelson Mandela was the speaker at our commencement ceremony. Many in attendance left there not just wanting to be successful people, they wanted to be good people as well. He was inspirational and he even manged to drop a few jokes.
Having him speak at our ceremony was an honor and it still remains as one of my favorite memories from “The Yard.” Because of this, I have no problems breaking my celebrity birthday rule and wishing a very happy birthday to the great Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Nelson Mandela address approximately 700 students during Southern University’s commencement ceremony on May 15, 2000.