Former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Price Recipient, Nelson Mandela was recently honored with the International Breaking Barriers Award by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for his lifetime dedication to international public service.
Mr. Mandela is notably known for leading the transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa and has received more than one hundred (100) awards in four decades for his philanthropic efforts.
The International Breaking Barriers Award is the highest honor presented to an individual whose international impact on social justice, equality, public service and leadership embodies the spirit of Justice Thurgood Marshall’s legacy.
A handover event was recently held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg where the Foundations’ Head of Memory and acting CEO, Verne Harris accepted the honor on Mr. Mandela’s behalf.
"Thurgood Marshall dedicated his entire life to equality, as did Nelson Mandela and it is for this reason that we are privileged to be honoring Mr. Mandela with this award," said Dwayne Ashley, President and CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
"As you know, Madiba (Mandela) is increasingly removing himself from the public eye," said Verne Harris. "While Mr. Mandela no longer receives these awards, he normally asks one of his comrades to accept the award on his behalf, and today I am privileged to do so."
Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Nelson Mandela Foundation will partner in the future together to provide access to internships for students in South Africa and that attend the 47-public Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States.
