On 23 August 2014 the United States National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, honoured the late Nelson Mandela with its highest honour – the International Freedom Conductor Award.
The award recognises people who exemplify the values of freedom and human rights worldwide.
Mr Mandela’s great-grandson, Luvuyo Mandela, and Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive Sello Hatang received the award on behalf of South Africa’s beloved Madiba.
Said Hatang of Mandela: “He was against the oppression of any person, and he was supportive of any organisation dedicated to fighting injustice. One form of oppression was as objectionable to him as any other. And his work was about uplifting people.
"He said if one person was oppressed, every other person in the world was oppressed and not fully free. There are 27-million people in the world being enslaved and in need of our support. The Freedom Center brings attention to the suffering being brought upon the enslaved, and celebrates people who fought against it.”
To read more about the award ceremony, please click here.