On May 12, 1994, South Africa’s first democratic and multiracial Parliament was formally opened following the end of apartheid. Nelson Mandela had just been inaugurated as President a day earlier. For the first time, Black South Africans had real legislative power in their own country. The Parliament included former political prisoners, anti-apartheid activists, and members of the African National Congress (ANC). It was a turning point in global Black liberation history, signaling the triumph of democracy over white minority rule. Mandela’s speech to Parliament set the tone for reconciliation, rebuilding, and forging a new, inclusive national identity.
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