Profile On Eddie Daniels

When given the choice to be labeled as black or white, it takes a brave man to choose ”black” in a racially segregated society such as South Africa. It takes a braver man to fight the system for social and racial equality.

Fighting the system in order to end oppression and injustice in South Africa was what Eddie Daniels, 83, did and it was what got him imprisoned in the all black prison, Robben Island for 15-years. It was during his stay at Robben Island that he befriended Nelson Mandela, his jail-mate.

 Daniels had dealt with race issues his whole life. He was one of six brothers and sisters born to an African-American mother and a Caucasian father. The family lived in an impoverished area in South Africa known as district 6 where they struggled to get by. “I take exception to being referred to as ‘Coloured,’ as I see myself as a South African. If I must be referred to in terms of colour then I prefer the term ‘black,’” Daniels said. He went on further to say that he chose to recognize the African-American side of his heritage because he was proud of it. “Skin color does not reflect integrity, dignity or character… Skin color is insignificant,” he said. Daniels also compared skin color to flowers in a garden, all beautiful and all different.

 Daniels was sentenced to fifteen years after he blew up power lines and railroad tracks in South Africa in order to protest the opposition and injustice of the apartheid region. When he first got to the Robben Island prison, he was segregated from the other inmates because he did not look black and the Robben Island prison is an all black prison; later he was assimilated with the rest, which is when he met and befriended Nelson Mandela. “He [Nelson Mandela] was the greatest of the greatest,” Daniels said. Mandela and Daniels had in depth discussion about politics during Daniel’s stay at Robben Island.

"We recall his loyalty and courage; his sense of humor, and justice as well as total commitment to the struggle of the prisoners for the eradication of injustice and for the betterment of their conditions,” said Mandela according to The Michigan State University Press.

Today, Daniels wants to thank the world for helping to crush the apartheid   regime. He is currently touring different universities and speaking to students where he tells them about his story as a freedom fighter. The University of Kentucky and The South African Festival sponsor his tour of the United States. He just wrote a book called There and Back, which is an autobiographical account of his time at Robben Island and his time with Nelson Mandela.

Daniels begins his lectures with a poem by William Ernest Henley that relates to his friend Nelson Mandela. The most important parts of the poem according to Daniels are the last lines, “I am master of my fate. I am captain of my soul.” At the end of the poem he stresses these lines by telling the audience. “You are mater of your fate. You are captain of your soul.”