My Evening in the Presence of Two African Presidents

If anyone ever told me that I would be an invited guest at the birthday celebration of the President of South Africa (right) and that I would have dinner in the very same ballroom in Washington, D.C., only a couple of tables away from not one, but two African Presidents, I would say, "no way." But lo and behold, this actually happened on April 13 and the reality of the evening did not hit me during the event, but came full force the next day after I had a chance to reflect on the previous evening’s celebrations. The Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington, D.C. was the location for what I call "my evening in the presence of Presidents."

The occasion was to honor H.E. President Jacob Zuma on his 68th birthday, who was in DC for the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by President Obama. His friend, the current Acting Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan (above), (and might I add, "fashionista in his own right," who sported an eye-catching black hat and black leather jacket) was present at the dinner to pay his regards in person to President Zuma. (The audience got two for the price of one, as knowledge of Acting President Jonathan’s attendance was made known only shortly before the celebration began).

After the singing of both South African and United States national anthems, Ambassador Andrew Young, Chairman (left) of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation (the event sponsor), who is a personal friend of President Zuma, and who has been an advocate for education in South Africa and Africa in general, praised President Zuma for his work before he had the honour to introduce him to his guests. Mr. Zuma took the podium and proceeded to share his following birthday wishes with the audience. President Zuma wished for educating, not only African children, but children all over the world. In his remarks, he said that "[e]ducation is the key to genuine freedom," and also that "[e]ducation is the most tangible and sustainable form of empowerment." He thanked Ambassador Young for the vital role he played and continues to play in making education possible for underprivileged, orphaned and the most disadvantaged youth in South Africa through President Zuma’s organization, the RDP Education Trust.

A formal education-deprived but self-educated man, President Zuma rose to the ranks in the African National Congress (ANC), after being influenced by politics at an early age. President Zuma spoke about the continued struggle of the liberation of the African continent. With many African countries now celebrating 50 years of independence, he wished for and urged all nations to "…commit…to draw on…shared achievements… to build a better Africa."

President Zuma also joked about a bet he has with President Obama, that Mr. Obama said he will fly to South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, if and only if, the final showdown is between the United States and South African soccer teams. Also present at the birthday celebration were Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters and Diane Watson, from the United States House of Representatives and Ministers of International Relations as well as Ministers of State Security and Energy from South Africa. And as long as I’m throwing titles out there, the White House representative at the birthday bash was Michael Blake (Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement & Deputy Associate Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs). Whew!

The evening’s host, and President and CEO of the Foundation, Hope Masters, also addressed the audience and spoke of the Foundation’s continued commitment to education.

The evening’s live entertainment were the Temptations who had President Zuma dancing on stage with them during their performance. (I missed them, but heard and read that they were awesome!) Stevie Wonder also made a surprise appearance and sang "happy birthday" to President Zuma.

Master of Ceremonies for the evening was CNN’s "easy on the eyes" weekend anchor, T.J. Holmes, who was quite the comedian and kept the mood of the evening very light.

All in all, the evening was a little surreal to me and in some ways I was happy to realize the emotion of the events the next day, because it gave me a true appreciation for the experience of being in the presence of the two leaders.

Thanks for the invitation!

Written by Screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R)