In 1995, one year after President Nelson Mandela had been elected and inaugurated as president of South Africa, I had the opportunity of accompanying my mentor, the Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, to that beautiful nation. This was Reverend Sullivan’s first trip to South Africa since he had been banned for his opposition to apartheid some 20 years earlier.

Upon arrival we were received as high level government officials. Several officers from the South African Foreign Ministry and the United States diplomatic corps greeted us and escorted us to a five star hotel. The next morning with a great deal of anticipation, we were carried to meet President Mandela at his official resident in Cape Town.

The president greeted us as if we were VIPs. At the beginning, he talked about the past, but more importantly, he discussed the future of South Africa and his plans to bring the people together. They had been separated by race: Whites, Indians, Coloreds and Blacks. He assured us that his legacy would be to bring his people together, one nation under God. He did it in less than five years, and he leaves a leadership style to be emulated by other leaders for decades to come. What a leader! What a great leader!

After building almost 100 village-level schools and providing training to hundreds of school leaders in South Africa, two years later, Reverend Sullivan and I were back. This time, we had a delegation of over 500 Americans. They came from all walks of life – rich and poor; civil rights icons and government officials, clergy and entertainers; corporate and grass roots leaders; and university presidents and semi-illiterates.

In route to the 1999 African and Friends of Africa Summit in Zimbabwe, a stopover in South Africa had been arranged. President Mandela agreed to greet this delegation. One of my greatest memories of this outstanding leader was while we were in a holding room, President Mandela looked at me and said, “I remember you young man, you are Dr. Wright…my Ambassador in Washington has told me about you. Thanks for your help.”

A little while later, President Mandela and Reverend Sullivan entered the auditorium to be greeted by an enthusiastic audience, all that could be heard was “Mandela! Mandela! Mandela!” After his greetings, I observed, hundreds of leaders in their own right, many of them I had admired for years, were reaching out to touch President Mandela. Most of them had tears falling from their eyes. One would have thought this was at a Michael Jackson concert.

As I reflect on the life of this leader among leaders, it is still ringing in my ear – Mandela! Mandela! Mandela! What a man, a great man the Honorable President Nelson Mandela, a leader for generations to come. We all shall miss him and honor him and respect him forever. His spirit lives on…What a leader! What a great leader! My friend and leader, we shall miss you.

May our Lord and Savor Jesus Christ continue to bless you in your final resting place, as well as your family and your fellow countrymen and women, especially the youth.

Dr. C.T. Wright is the former president of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, President Emeritus of the International Foundation of Education and Self Help and Founder of The Light of Hope Institute.