Throngs Celebrate Nelson Mandela's Legacy

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Tens of thousands of people converged on a soccer stadium in Johannesburg this morning, saying goodbye to Nelson Mandela, South Africa's anti-apartheid hero. Among them was President Obama.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: He used decades of prison to sharpen his arguments, but also to spread his thirst for knowledge to others in the movement. And he learned the language and the customs of his oppressors so that one day he might better convey to them how their own freedom depend upon his.

INSKEEP: The president was one of several world leaders who spoke at the Nelson Mandela memorial service in Johannesburg, a story we've been following throughout this morning. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.