Although Nelson Mandela never visited the isles, he embodied the aloha spirit and inspired many in Hawaii as an icon of justice and peace, local civil rights and social justice advocates said, extolling the life of the anti-apartheid leader as an inspiration for all.
"It is a tremendous loss for humanity. We’ve lost a giant," said Alphonso Braggs, president of the NAACP Hawaii chapter. "His impact was global, and his message was such a powerful message of what any person can do if you commit to overcoming your challenges and believe you can make a difference regardless of your age, your race or the condition of the environment when you pursue change."
Mandela spent nearly a third of his life incarcerated for opposing apartheid — while on trial, he said he was willing to die for a democratic and free society — before emerging to lead South Africa to democracy and becoming the country’s first black president in 1994.
"I have been inspired by his struggle for justice, global peace and equality for all of mankind," Braggs said. "Nelson Mandela was one of those inspiring figures who helped us see the value in staying in the struggle."
The former political prisoner was promoting diversity before it was popular, said Amy Agbayani, director of the Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. "Most people see him as South Africa’s first black president, but he was very inclusive and called his government a rainbow government," she said.
Agbayani recalled working with UH student and faculty groups in the 1980s to help put economic pressure on South Africa to release Mandela from prison by urging American and global companies to withdraw stocks and financial investments.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Thursday ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset Monday in memory of Mandela. "Nelson Mandela reminded us all of our common humanity. He was the symbol and the living reality of what perseverance and determination a human being can bring to bear on behalf of the freedom of us all," Abercrombie said in a statement.
The Very Rev. Walter B.A. Brownridge, dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, who worked in the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa, from 2003 to 2006, called the Nobel Peace Prize laureate a personal hero, describing Mandela as a courageous fighter.
Brownridge said he remembers watching Mandela’s release from prison on television alongside five visiting South African law students when Brownridge was living in Washington, D.C., as a lawyer and Sunday school teacher.
"It was in February 1990. It was a Sunday morning," he said.
"They had tears coming down their faces," he recalled. "This was a day they never thought would happen."
Faye Kennedy, co-chairwoman of the Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights, said, "He’s done so much for the world as a figure of peace and reaching out to people who had formerly been his adversaries."
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa echoed that sentiment, saying in a statement that Mandela "assumed power without rancor or bitterness and changed the direction of his nation. I hope he will be the model for many, many more leaders in the years to come."
Nancy Bottelo, president and CEO of Special Olympics Hawaii, heard Mandela speak at the opening ceremony for the 2003 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Dublin.
"Being there was truly (an) inspiration," Bottelo said in an email. "The crowd’s roar for him upon his introduction was deafening. And when Nelson Mandela spoke, the entire stadium of well over 75,000 people went completely silent. You could hear a pin drop."
