April 27, 1994. Ohlange High School, Inanda, a green, hilly township north of Durban.
Nelson Mandela arrived to vote for the first time in his life. An American lawyer walked beside him. His hand on her arm.
Before entering the school, he walked to the grave of John Dube, the first president of the ANC, buried on a rise above the building. Stood there. Then walked down to vote.
Inside the voting hall, Mandela cast his first ballot. Then they moved outside to the porch where photographers waited. He cast his second ballot there, for the cameras. Then walked to the microphone on the lawn to speak.
Gay Johnson McDougall spent 15 years making that moment possible. Director of the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She worked with South African lawyers to defend thousands of political prisoners. Successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Anti-Apartheid Act. Built legal cases that led to international sanctions.
Banks stopped lending. Companies divested. The economic pressure mounted until apartheid couldn’t survive it.
When South Africa prepared for its first democratic election, they asked her to serve on the Independent Electoral Commission. One of five international members. The only American.
She designed the system. Mandela voted in it, his hand on her arm.
2015. South Africa gave her their national medal of honor for non-citizens, the Order of O.R. Tambo Medal.
Theme: “Global Conciousness”
Date Published: Monday, October 27, 2025