Global Connections- Winnie Mandela at Alys Stevens Center

When I first heard Winne Mandela was going to be speaking at UAB I was ecstatic. I knew about Winnie's controversial history in women's rights, social work, and anti- discrimination. These things all interest me and sparked an interest in her work for me early on. When I arrived I was surprised to see the Alys Stevens Center was not packed completely full for the former first lady of South Africa. The audience was pretty large and predominately African American. After listening to sponsors and even the newly elected mayor of Birmingham , William Bell I was ready for Winnie. She sat on the stage in a very poised firm straight manner the entire time she waited. I noticed her facial expression change from a very calm blank stare only once. I felt like her composure was that of a Queen.



When she finally decided to take center stage she did so with a very angry looking body guard next to her the entire time. She immediately began an all out attack on capitalism , patriarchy, poverty , and discrimination. Her criticism began with the USA and it's imperialist campaign throughout the middle east over the last few years. She specifically focused on the Afghanistan and Iraq war and their current roles. "America, what do we in the world community think of you when you preach peace and do something differently ?" Miss Mandela asked the audience. A strong reception seemed to rise every time she critiqued the war. The audience seemed to be almost wholeheartedly in agreement with what she was saying. When Miss Mandela began to chastise Israel the mood somewhat changed though. She condemned their actions in building new settlements and further "choking" the Palestinian refugee population. I heard mumbles and noticed facial expressions changing. Some people seemed unhappy enough to leave during these final moments of her lecture. Winnie's time attacking patriarchy was very direct and more blunt to me than the rest of her lecture. I felt she was trying to be subtle in most points she made. I was very satisfied with her presentation myself though.