The Long Walk Comes to an End

News of the passing of Nelson Mandela at the age of 95 was not a surprise but still felt like a shock. Though he had been ailing for close to a year, the man so defined by his courage and resilience had an aura of immortality about him. President Obama said the world had lost “one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth.” He was “a giant for justice,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “He proved that there is freedom in forgiving,” said Bill Clinton, “that a big heart is better than a closed mind, and that life’s real victories must be shared.”

My predecessor at TIME, Rick Stengel, worked with Mandela on his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, and Madiba, as he was affectionately known, eventually became the godfather to one of Rick’s sons. He has written an appreciation of the man he came to know both as hero and as friend. Through all Mandela’s great challenges, Rick says, he never lost sight of his overarching goal: achieving freedom for his people and enlarging the circle of freedom for all. Bono reflects on how Mandela broadened the freedom struggle to global poverty, suggesting that poverty is as unnatural as apartheid. South Africa’s champion rugby captain Francois Pienaar remembers how Mandela used sports to help bring unity to a nation. Morgan Freeman, who portrayed Mandela in Invictus, writes about seeing his humility and unfailing good humor up close. This special issue explores many of the lessons Mandela learned during his long and difficult life and the legacy he has left us all.

Nancy Gibbs, MANAGING EDITOR