Watch CBS News

Rainbow Push HQ To Host Mandela Memorial Service Friday

photo
South African Consul General Vuyiswa Tulelo. (Credit: Steve Miller)

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago memorial service for South African President Nelson Mandela will be Friday night at Rainbow/PUSH Headquarters.

Rainbow Push HQ To Host Mandela Memorial Service Friday

Rainbow/PUSH was selected as the site for the Chicago memorial because it was Rainbow/PUSH that was one of the African National Congress' greatest allies in the struggle against apartheid, says South African Consul General Vuyiswa Tulelo.

Tulelo says she has been talking to some of the people who have come by the consulate to sign the memorial book for President Mandela,

One South African woman she remembers in particular,.

"She came out here and she just cried. She cried and she cried and she cried.

"Obviously, I came up to her to find out, 'Why are you crying?'

"And she says, 'It feels like a piece of me has gone.'"

The Chicago memorial for President Mandela is Friday night at 7.

Tulelo says there are more than 5000 South Africans living in the Chicago area.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.