Source: Biography.com

The former First Lady of South Africa Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who is frequently called “mother of the nation,” is in debt and recently the court ordered that her possessions be auctioned off to help pay off the debt. But it seems no one was willing to take part. According to The Huffington Post, no one bid on the items, which included artworks and other belongings of Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife. And there were no locksmiths willing to unlock the doors to her home for the scheduled auction.

“Court sheriff John Maluleke and two other officials joined reporters gathered outside her gated home but were denied entry despite repeated ringing of the bell and banging on the metal gate,” reports HuffPo.  The auction was listed by attorney Stephen Karnavos of Alan Levy Attorneys. According to Karnavos, Mandela owes nearly R46,000 ($5,000), which includes the unpaid school fees for her niece plus interest, legal costs and sheriff’s fees. A check for the equivalent of $1,700 was paid to the law firm a day before the planned auction,  but the check has not  yet cleared, said Karnavos. As a member of South Africa’s Parliament, Madikizela-Mandela earns R900,000 (more than $95,000) annually.

The auction was called off after officials could not find a locksmith willing to force entry into Madikizela-Mandela’s home, a sheriff’s official told The Associated Press.

The anti-apartheid activist has had other legal problems. She was accused of allegedly ordering the kidnapping deaths of several young men in the 1980s and in 1991 she was found guilty in the kidnapping and assault of one youth who died of his injuries. The court sentenced her to six years in jail. After an appeal, she was found guilty of being an accessory in the assault and her sentence was reduced to a fine and a suspended prison term, reports the website.

Nelson Mandela and Madikizela-Mandela married in 1958 but his 27-year imprisonment by the apartheid  government separated the couple. They reunited when he was released in 1994 but divorced in 1997.

Source: The Grio

It’s quite apparent that we are living in the age of reality television, where people from all walks of life invite the public into the their private lives by allowing camera crews to follow and document their every move. While these types of shows are generally frowned upon due to the negativity that they are commonly associated with, every once in a while, a positive show comes along, debunking the stereotype that all reality shows are bad. The latest show that offers the hope of reinforcing positive images of Black women in the media is Being Mandela, a reality show that will document the lives of Nelson and Winnie Mandela’s granddaughters, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway and Swati Dlamini. The Grio‘s Chris Withrerspoon recently sat down with the sisters to discuss their upcoming show. Check out some of what they had to say.

On why they chose to do reality TV:

“When we were initially approached, we took a lot of time to think about whether or not going down this avenue was the right thing for us to do in terms of reality TV. But, then, when we actually made the decision we thought this would be a great showcase for our country. We didn’t only produce Nelson Mandela. You know, there are also other things that are awesome about the country,” said Swati

On what we can expect to see on the show:

“…ourselves, our lives, our families are going to be on the show. My grandmother, she’ll be on the show, our mom, our siblings, some of our cousins… Through the show you actually get to see us as women, as mothers, as businesswomen. So it’s kind of just insight into how we live our lives, ” expressed Swati

On getting permission from their grandparents to do the show:

“I mean we didn’t have to ask them. You know, my grandfather is 95, so we don’t actually go and ask him things like this. But, the Mandela name is our name as well, so he entrusts us to do well by the name, respect the name, to treat it with integrity, to produce something he can be proud of. So, we just know he supports us in everything that we do and we take pride in our name so we would never do anything to tarnish the name in anyway,” said  Zaziwe.

On their grandfather’s health:

“His health is very good. He’s surrounded by family. We go to the house all the time. He’s really happiest the most when he spends time with his great grandchildren. So before we came on the trip we literally went to go see him to say bye. So he’s in really really good spirits. We’re very happy,” said Zaziwe.

Being Mandela premieres on Cozi TV February 10th at 9:00 pm ET.

Check out footage of the interview on the next page. What do you think of the Mandela heiresses getting their own reality show?

Source: thehollywoodgossip.com

Despite my earnest efforts to try to help Oprah save her fledgling network, she is still hell bent on doing it her way – mainly by interviewing us to death.

And who can blame her? Oprah’s signature program, “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” has produced the second highest viewership in the short lived network’s history.  Yet as the viewership numbers appears to be looking up for O, Oprah might be running out of A-listers willing to appear on the show and it looks like she is scrounging through the bottom of the barrel looking for quality interviews. It has also been reported that she has even considered getting OJ Simpson on her show so that she can get him to confess to the 1992 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. I guess there is nothing like circling the drain of failure to force you to go back on your very public vow to never have OJ on as a guest.

Nevertheless, since Oprah insists on doing things her way, I’m still willing to help a sister out. What can I say? Oprah is my shero. Therefore, as a hard and fast stan, who wants to see her succeed, I have put on my thinking cap and came up with a list of five people Oprah should consider interviewing for her next chapter:

Source: gumbumper.com

Lil’ Kim.

What Will Make Her a Good Guest: Seriously this woman is screaming for a sit down, tell all (and I mean ALL) interview. There is no more intriguing person right now in my mind than Lil Kim. Not only was she the pioneer in the smut rap genre, her rise to fame crosses all sorts of intersections between race and gender and sexuality. She even had good Christian girls walking around, talking about, I used to be scared of the d**k, now I throw lips to the s**t, handle it like a real b****h… Heck, I bet after reading this, about a dozen people went straight to YouTube to pull up her entire archive of music.

What Oprah Should Ask Her: Listen, there is no need to beat around the bush. Just go right in and ask her, “What the hell happened to your face?” Maybe not in that manner, but you get what I’m saying. Then you can talk about what’s holding her back from a comeback; her beef with Minaj; her time in prison and her relationship with Biggie Smalls. But most importantly talk about her face. Heck make it a two-part special. After Oprah gets down to exposing all the pathology behind her…er…transformation into a Puerto Rican cat, she can then hand the reigns over to Iyanla Vanzant, who can lay hands on her, do some chanting and help Kim find her inner peace.  On a more serious note: body dysmorphic disorder is a very real thing, even in the African American community. And with so many folks of darker hues doing all sorts of craziness like skin bleaching to appear lighter, that interview could help lots of folks work through some of the same sort of self-esteem issues we’ve seen on full display with Kim.

Source: soulculture.co.uk

Let’s just say people weren’t too enthusiastic at the thought of Jennifer Hudson playing Winnie Mandela in the biopic Winnie, particularly with Terrence Howard playing her husband, South African apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Less than stellar reviews from the screening at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival also confirmed that lack of enthusiasm but now the general public is getting a chance to make up their own minds about the film.

Winnie has been scheduled for a Fall release and a new trailer is giving us a first look at what to expect from the movie, which is directed by Darrell Roodt and follows the life of Winnie from her early childhood through to her marriage and later imprisonment of her husband. According to Soul Culture, the film chronicles her continuous harassment by the security police, banishment to a small Free State town, betrayal by friends and allies, and more than a year in solitary confinement.

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Source: The Grio.com

From theGrio.com

Just when we thought the Winnie Mandela biopic was dead on arrival, it has been resurrected. According to Forbes Winnie will get a fall 2012 release.

A version of the film was screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September of last year, but received mixed reviews and considerable backlash. One reason being that Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard star as Winnie and Nelson Mandela, rather than South African actors, but also because Winnie Mandela was never consulted during the production of the film.

See how Jakes stepped in over at theGrio.com.

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nelsonmandelaonline.net

Former South African president Nelson Mandela is reportedly in stable condition Saturday after undergoing surgery for an abdominal complaint. Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told South African private news channel eNews that the 93-year-old former statesman is “in good spirits and well.”

As the country’s first black president after a history of white minority rule, the BBC’s Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says Mr Mandela occupies a special place in the hearts of South Africans. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is affectionately known in South Africa by his clan name, Madiba. He spent 27 years in prison for his fight against white minority rule before being released in 1990. In 1994, he became South Africa’s first black president, stepping down in 1999 after one term.

Read Full Story Here…..

(The Root) — Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is less than thrilled about the biopic film Winnie, which will star Jennifer Hudson, but the activist says that her issue is with the people behind the camera.  ”I have absolutely nothing against Jennifer, but I have everything against the movie itself,” she told CNN. “I was not consulted. I am still alive, and I think that it is a total disrespect to come to South Africa, make a movie about my struggle and call that movie some translation of a romantic life of Winnie Mandela.”

Read More…

The life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is a fascinating story. So much so that it’s been turned into an opera, being performed in South Africa.

Tsakane Maswangany, a native of Soweto, will sing Mandela’s story in Soweto. This is what the actress had to say about the play and her role in it.

“It’s something that I grew up knowing. It’s part of my history.”

Check out the details of the opera and what Winnie means to the nation over at theGrio.com.

Perhaps the “Real Housewives” franchise has soured you on the idea of housewives, but keep in mind there’s only so much reality on reality television. Flip through a history book or turn on the news and you’ll get plenty of examples of true blue housewives who are more than just the maid/cook/nanny to their families.

Check out AOL Black Voices as they explore the topic with special emphasis on women like Coretta Scott King, our girl First Lady Michelle Obama and Winnie Mandela. Good stuff.

An all black, female comedy ensemble (with the help of Wayne Brady) created a spoof of The Real Housewives of Atlanta called The Real Housewives of Civil Rights. The cast includes Coretta Scott King, Winnie Mandela, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Betty Shabazz, and Marilyn Monroe is the obligatory white woman. The women play off the events of the time period, character exaggerations and stereotypes, while simultaneously highlighting the foolishness associated with their TV predecessors on RHOA. Check the video below:

Do you think the spoof accurately and effectively mocks the RHOA or does it cheapen the seriousness of an important time in our country’s history? Check out Black Voices/The Root for their analysis of the video.