Item 0721 - Citation Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela -Humanitarian , Par Excellence from Voorhees College in Denmark

Gold plate mounted on medium dark rectangular wood. Base. Bottom of base has 2 affixed gold branches. Gold plate includes the seal of "Voorhees College, Denmark S.C." Text is in black and reads:
Citation
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Humanitarian par excellence
On the occasion of the special commemorative convocation in your honor,
Voorhees College salutes and honors you for your meritous service and for the personal sacrifices that you have made from dismantling the pillars of apartheid and for your raising the consciousness level of the world's population about the oppressive rules in South Africa. For the expressed solidarity that you have engendered to mobilize thousands to achieve self determination and for enduring inhuman sacrifices and family deprivation, you are cited.
Further, you are cited for distinguishing yourself as one of the world's most recognized leaders in the vigorous struggle to inaugurate your dream of a peaceful, free, democratic and non racial South Africa.
Finally, you are also cited for your courage and hope during more than a quarter century of imprisonment designed to silence your voice as an advocate of human justice. The world homors you for your courage and determination in the face of adversity for focusing on the needs of your beloved South Africa.
You are the true messenger of hope for this and future generations. Therefore, on this twenty seventh day of June, nineteen hundred and ninety, we salute and honor you at this special commemorative convocation held in the Martin Luther King, Jr, chapel, on the campus of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia.
Signed by: Leonard E Dawson (President, Voorhees College, Denmark, South Carolina)