Who did Nelson Mandela meet during his 1990 visit to Atlanta?

Civil rights movement symbolism was high during visit
Nelson Mandela receives the Martin Luther king Jr. International Freedom Award from King's widow Coretta Scott King during a ceremony at the Big Bethel AME church in Atlanta Wednesday, June 27, 1990. Mandela is the first recipient of the award. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Credit: David Longstreath

Credit: David Longstreath

Nelson Mandela receives the Martin Luther king Jr. International Freedom Award from King's widow Coretta Scott King during a ceremony at the Big Bethel AME church in Atlanta Wednesday, June 27, 1990. Mandela is the first recipient of the award. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Nelson Mandela was eager to share his message of ending racial segregation in South Africa and Atlanta — ground zero in the fight for civil rights in the United States — was one of his stops during an eight-city American tour in 1990.

On that summer day, he placed a wreath at the tomb of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., met with civil rights leaders at Big Bethel AME Church, spoke at Morehouse College's King Chapel and inspired more than 50,000 at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Among the tens of thousands of people who saw, heard and touched him were Ambassador Andrew YoungCoretta Scott King and Rev. Joseph E. Lowery — a few of the symbols of the fight against racial discrimination in the United States.

More about Mandela's Atlanta connections