A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

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South Africa: The Day in Images

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The message left by President Obama in the Robben Island guestbook today: pic.twitter.com/0xIxg36sJ4

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) July 1, 2013

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Arriving in Cape Town

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Visiting Robben Island – The rock quarry labor camp where Nelson Mandela was forced to work as a prisoner

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The First Lady: Today, our family visited Robben Island for an experience we will never forget. Robben Island is located off the coast of South Africa, and from the 1960s through the 1990s, this Island housed a maximum security prison. Many of the prisoners there – including the guide for our visit, a man named Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada – were activists who worked to bring down Apartheid, the South African government’s policies that discriminated against people of color.  Under Apartheid, people of different races were separated in nearly every part of South African society.  They were forced to attend separate schools, live in separate neighborhoods, even swim at separate beaches – and in nearly every case, the neighborhoods, schools and other facilities for black people were much worse than the ones for white people.

More here

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… with their tour guide, Ahmed Kathrada, a former prisoner with Nelson Mandela

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the first lady in africa

Three more videos from the White House YouTube channel:

And P found this one:

let’s move, south africa

Desmond Tutu is 79 😯

cape town, thursday

First lady Michelle Obama stands with her mother Marian Robinson and daughters Sasha and Malia as they listen to former resident Noor Ebrahim on a visit to the District Six museum, in Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1867 as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, and immigrants, the apartheid government in 1965 declared it “white” and forcibly removed 60,000 residents and bulldozed their homes

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First lady Michelle Obama reacts to a student’s question at the University of Cape Town

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First lady Michelle Obama meets with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Cape Town Stadium

First lady Michelle Obama does push ups with Archbishop Desmond Tutu

First lady Michelle Obama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu bump fists after they participated in youth activities raising awareness for HIV prevention at Cape Town Stadium

Pictured left to right: the First Lady’s niece Leslie Robinson; daughter Malia Obama; Archbishop Tutu, Mrs. Obama; daughter Sasha Obama, and nephew Avery Robinson.

goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaal!

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South Africa’s Siphiwe Tshabalala scores the first goal of the World Cup against Mexico at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, June 11, 2010. The game finished 1-1.

no easy walk to freedom

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The President and First Lady attend a performance – “Spirit Of America: A Ford’s Theatre Celebration” – at Ford’s Theatre, June 7, 2010. South African Justice Albie Sachs and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu were awarded the 2010 Lincoln Medal at the event.