Nelson Mandela was born in a small village in the hills of the Transkei on July 18, 1918. Evelyn Bennett was born in the flat-lands of Florence, South Carolina on February 11, 1918. What do these two people have in common even though they were born on different continents and are the products of dissimilar cultures? They both were born in the same year. They both experienced the hardships and triumphs of the 20th century. They both were fighters for justice. They both were forgiving of a society which relegated them to second-class citizenship and apartheid. They both are long-lived and have reached their 93rd year. They both love family and have great-grand children.
In spite of these similarities, there were profound differences between these two individuals. Nelson Mandela was born into royalty and was destined for leadership based on a long line of leadership in his family among the Xhosa-speaking Tembu people. Evelyn Bennett was born a commoner in the rural American South. Her destiny was shaped by the Southern way of life and the change that shaped its 20th century character. She was an active participant in this change and helped to create a new world for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mr. Mandela fulfilled his family destiny of leadership in a profound way. He through his actions, courage, determination and fortitude helped to transform his country from an international pariah to one that is highly respected in the world. Although he was imprisoned for 27 years, most of which were on the harsh Robben Island off the shores of Cape Town, he never lost sight of his vision for his homeland and the people in it. He reconciled the reality that this was a diverse country with people from Europe, Asia and Africa living together. He was initially jailed for fighting to gain the freedom of the majority Africans, who were oppressively ruled by the minority Afrikaners. He recognized while being oppressed that he had to understand the oppressor. Those many years in prison matured his thinking on the role of the African majority in a country of multinationals.
In his classic speech at the Supreme Court of South Africa during the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage, in Pretoria on April 20 1964 Mandela stated:
” During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”When he was inaugurated president, he placed his jailers on the front row of the stage for the entire world to see his vision of the new South Africa.
Evelyn Bennett, while growing up, internalized the family values from her mother and father of compassion, humility, empathy, hard-work, integrity, honesty and caring for and sharing with others. With this outlook, she was prepared for the vicissitudes that lay ahead. She lived in both Pennsylvania and South Carolina. She was a coal miner’s daughter because her father had to migrate north to find work in the coal mines. The depression struck, and the family faced economic hardship as well as Jim Crow oppression. With her family values, she endured the hardships and graduated from Wilson High School in 1936. She fervently wanted to go to college, however, she married at the age of 18 years, Mr. Earl Ernest Guile Sr. This prompted her to focus on family and within a seven-year period she had given birth to a daughter and a son.
Mrs. Evelyn Guile became self-educated through voracious reading and having a natural curiosity about the world around her. This education she acquired became a focus in her parenting. Her daughter and son benefited from this extensive knowledge and were influenced by her and their father to seek higher education. Her children and grandchildren have received advanced degrees from leading universities. While instilling in her children family values, she pursued a career as a seamstress and became world-class in her expertise. Her sewing skills were sought by the women of the region far and wide. She is also an accomplished artist in China painting and other media with a vast collection of works. Her zest for life has taken her in travel to all seven continents.
She supported her husband who was a civil rights leader in the era leading up to and after the Supreme Court decision of Brown versus Board of Education, in spite of the personal dangers that this evoked in South Carolina. In her 93rd year, she has seen enormous progress made in the South. With gladness in her heart, she knows that her children, grandchildren and future generations will benefit from the sacrifices she made. Like the respondents in “Secrets to a Richer Life”( http://amzn.to/vs7sce ), she placed her highest value on integrity.
Mrs. Guile is always with a positive uplifting spirit. Like Mr. Mandela, with forgiveness, she has seen the society she grew up in transformed and made better. Yet they think more work has to be done. The indomitable spirit they both shared throughout their lives is something that we can all be inspired by and hope that in our lives we can have the same larger-than-life strength of mind and relentlessly optimism.
God bless Mr. Nelson Mandela and all national heroes. God bless my heroic mother, Mrs. Evelyn Bennett Guile, as well as all great mothers. They have shown us the way with a sense of right and wrong, having a vision, demonstrating fortitude, being compassionate, and showing a forgiving spirit. We look forward to them both celebrating their 100th year in 2018. http://ernestguile.com/
EarlErnestGuile 
Interesting read..:-)