Nelson Mandela’s long walk to freedom

It has been 20 years since the South African authorities agreed to free Nelson Mandela – the man who would lead the struggle to end the country’s policy of racial segregation, and create a multi-racial democracy. In this audio slideshow, using the BBC archives, you can see how he left behind his cell of 27 years, to become South Africa’s first black president.

• BBC Audio slideshow: Long walk to freedom
• Archive video: Nelson Mandela freed after 27 years in prison

“Skin”: a youth under apartheid

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• ‘Skin’ homepage
• Phillip Martin’s reports on albinism
• Other Color Initiative stories by Phillip Martin

Free speech around the world

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After Joe Wilson’s “you lie!”, after Kanye West at the MTV awards, after Serena Williams’ outburst at the US Open, you may think: enough already with nasty speech. Well, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet. In this week’s World in Words podcast, a report on some really offensive Dutch cartoons. Also, a South African gadfly-journalist upsets just about everyone. And the Danish tourist bureau stages a faux one night stand.

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The Reunion: Release of Nelson Mandela

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Ted Kennedy, Tracy Kidder, Polish Jews

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On this week’s How We Got Here history podcast we look at Ted Kennedy’s contribution to the anti-apartheid movement, Tracy Kidder’s new book Strength in What Remains, and the construction of a new museum in Warsaw dedicated to the Jewish history of Poland. >>> Click here to join the “How We Got Here” Facebook Group Page.

Ted Kennedy’s fight against apartheid

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Senator Edward Kennedy has died at 77 after a long battle with a brain tumor. The Massachusetts Democrat was a dominant force in American and foreign politics for almost 50 years. The Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa praised Kennedy for making “his voice heard in the struggle against apartheid at a time when the freedom struggle was not widely supported in the West.” Jeb Sharp looked at Kennedy’s role in ending apartheid.
>>> BBC obituary
>>>Read comments from around the world about Kennedy’s legacy
>>>A life in pictures

Entire program – August 26, 2009

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The possible presidential implications of the CIA interrogations probe; also, the story of a former student democracy activist in China; plus, remembering Ted Kennedy’s fight against apartheid.

Ted Kennedy’s Legacy

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Senator Ted Kennedy died last night at the age of 77 after a year-long battle with brain cancer. The World’s Jeb Sharp looks back on the legacy of the man called the “liberal lion of the Senate.”

>>> BBC obituary
Have Your Say: read comments from around the world about Kennedy’s legacy
A life in pictures