Following the film screening, Williams and Fond du Lac elder Ricky DeFoe will be facilitating conversations on Indigenous resistance around the world and Mandela’s legacy through an Indigenous lens.

Nelson Mandela was a member of the Tembu tribal group of South Africa. He was imprisoned for 27 years for his resistance against the country’s government-sanctioned system of racial segregation. After his release, he became the first president of the new multiracial democracy of South Africa and its first Black head of state in 1994. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he is revered as an Indigenous freedom fighter and statesman.

In 2018, Williams and the Nelson Mandela Centenary Committee organized a series of community events in Duluth to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. “Duluth for Mandela” highlights the Duluth community celebrating Mandela’s life through art, music, dance, and educational programs.