Mandela was flawed like anyone else, a member of a movement prone to infighting, a leader who won seismic victories but whose dream for South Africa remains unfinished.
“It is his humanity that allows us to look towards the next generation of leaders and say sincerely: you, too, can be Madiba,” the mayor said.
The speech launched the Mandela Foundation Global Leadership Forum, aimed at continuing the struggle for dignity amid a global landscape of strongmen, corruption, and enduring apartheid in different forms.
Mandela's unwavering solidarity
The mayor recalled a pivotal moment in June 1990, four months after Mandela's release from Robben Island, when he faced a hostile town hall with ABC News's Ted Koppel.
Questioners attacked Mandela's relationships with world leaders considered US foes and his support for the Palestinian cause.
Mandela refused to be baited.
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When asked about alienating the Jewish community over Palestinian solidarity, he flipped the question: can a politics of universalism exist if it is riddled with exceptions?
“Anybody who changes his principles depending on with whom he is dealing? That is not a man who can lead a nation,” Mandela said.
The mayor highlighted Mandela's lesson: solidarity must be universal and unyielding, extended even when the injustice is contested.
“Solidarity, as Pope Francis told us, is uncomfortable. Solidarity, as Madiba proved for 95 years, is not just a value, it is a strategy.”
Mandela becomes a mirror, the mayor argued.
