Happy Freedom Day!

Title Image: “27 April 1994 – Freedom Day, South Africa” by esrad is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

On Freedom Day we commemorate the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994, where all South Africans could vote regardless of race. These were the first post-apartheid elections. On the first commemoration of Freedom day in 1995, Nelson Mandela said the following: 

“As dawn ushered in this day, the 27th of April 1995, few of us could suppress the welling of emotion, as we were reminded of the terrible past from which we come as a nation; the great possibilities that we now have; and the bright future that beckons us. And so we assemble here today, and in other parts of the country, to mark a historic day in the life of our nation. Wherever South Africans are across the globe, our hearts beat as one, as we renew our common loyalty to our country and our commitment to its future.”