In one life, one man has already worked to prevent South Africa from civil war, made same-sex marriage legal there and continued a message of peace and nonviolence. And he’s coming to Pacific to share his experiences.
Albert “Albie” Sachs is an internationally known human rights activist and former South African Constitutional Court judge. He was “instrumental in the struggle against the apartheid” and the following dismantle of it, said the director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality, David Boersema. The center is bringing Sachs to speak at Pacific Nov. 5.
Boersema said he admires Sachs’s ability to deal “with personal and social hardships in a nonviolent way” while maintaining integrity and passion and making the world a better place. The center decided to bring Sachs to speak at Pacific because the focus of the center is to “bring people to campus that bring a message of peace, social justice, and inner peace,” said Boersema.
He hopes students and faculty will “hear the voice of dealing with social injustice in non-violent ways like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi.” Sachs is just another example, Boersema said, that everyone deals with injustice and should know how to deal without resorting to violence.
Sachs is also a two-time winner of the Alan Paton Award for his books “Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter” and “The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law.”
Last year, Gandhi’s grandson spoke and Boersema hopes to continue this tradition of inspirational speakers.
Sachs will speak Nov. 5 in Taylor Auditorium from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Boersema expects that many different people will attend. The event is free and open to students, faculty and the community.
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