NELSON MANDELA'S RELEASE AND THE UNIMAGINED DREAM Thirty years ago, a 72-year-old Nelson Mandela walked out of the then-Victor Verster prison, an hour's drive away from Cape Town. He had entered prison as a young fighter and emerged as an elder statesman, more open to negotiation, but still willing to go toe to toe when needed. Clutching his hand was Mama Winnie Mandela, who, with countless others, kept the spotlight on him during those decades in prison. Their hands, raised proudly in the air, signified a victory. But when he stepped out, a battle won, there was still a war to be won. Ostensibly a free man, Madiba was not truly free. He remained under the governance of a racist terror machine masquerading as a legitimate government. In stepping out that day, Madiba became more than a symbol to millions, not only in South Africa, but globally. He represented this unimagined dream. Yet, he also became a symbol of fear. He was seen as a violent terrorist and, even more worryingly for others, was seen as [god forbid] a communist! For many, he represented a nightmare in which their version of freedom was being shattered. What Madiba was able to do was to carve out a shared vision of freedom for the majority of us to hold ourselves to. It was with a clarity of purpose and a sense of social justice that he was able to shepherd South Africa and many of his enemies toward this vision. And he did this while operating in a constrained environment due to structural conditions in South Africa and globally