Chris Coons: “on this date a century ago, an extraordinary life began that would change the lives of millions of others. One hundred…”

“on this date a century ago, an extraordinary life began that would change the lives of millions of others. One hundred years ago today, Nelson Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo in a countryside of grass-covered rolling hills in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. That day began a 95-year journey of one man who led the South African people to liberation and whose legacy continues to reverberate through time. Over the course of his life, Nelson Mandela, known by his nickname ``Madiba,'' became venerated as a global advocate for justice and equality by millions--arguably, more than any other political figure of our time. Through political activism and resistance, Madiba led a revolution by shepherding his people from racial division, hate, and subjugation to freedom, tolerance, and democracy. One of the most striking aspects of Nelson Mandela's leadership as the first President of a truly free, nonracial, nonsexist South Africa was his enormous capacity for forgiveness and his ability to open his heart to those who were once his brutal oppressors. Twenty years after he was released from a lifetime in prison, Nelson Mandela invited to dinner at his own home one of his former jailers, a man with whom he had become close friends, saying that their friendship reinforced his belief in the essential humanity of even those who had kept him for so long behind bars. How long? Twenty-six years, 6 months, and 1 week.…”