Ron Stodghill
rstodghill@charlotteobserver.com

South African political leader Winnie Mandela will deliver the commencement address during Johnson C. Smith University's graduation ceremony on May 8, JCSU's president said Saturday.

Ron Carter announced the news during the university's annual Arch of Triumph Gala, a black-tie awards dinner held at the Charlotte Convention Center. Carter became acquainted with Winnie Mandela, the former wife of African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, during his involvement in the movement to abolish apartheid, a system of legal racial separation enforced in the country from 1948 to 1993.

Winnie Mandela, 74, is a controversial figure. While many regard her as an icon of the South African liberation movement, others view her as a brutal perpetrator of vigilante violence against her political detractors - a reputation bolstered by her convictions of fraud, kidnapping and accessory to assault.

In defending his choice of Winnie Mandela to give the commencement address, Carter said: "They all had blood on their hands. They were fighting a war. ... People suffer during wars. But she was the person who kept the movement going while others were in jail. She's an excellent example of a transformative leader, and our students can learn from her story."

Mandela last visited the U.S. in March 2010, when she spoke in Selma, Ala., at the Jubilee Film Festival and at the University of Alabama- Birmingham.

Last year, Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. secretary of state, delivered JCSU's commencement address. Michael Marsicano, president and CEO of the Foundation for the Carolinas, was named an event honoree.

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