Atlanta airport unveils Mandela sculpture, a reminder of ‘shared struggle’
In 1990, after spending 27 years in a South African prison, Nelson Mandela traveled to Atlanta as part of a sweeping American goodwill tour.
He arrived June 27, landing at what was then Hartsfield International Airport. Maynard H. Jackson, then the mayor of Atlanta, was there to greet him.
On Wednesday, at the international terminal of that same airport, now the busiest in the world and known as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, current Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens unveiled a massive sculpture of the anti-apartheid leader and former president of South Africa.
“They say that art can speak across borders,” said Dickens, wearing a black dashiki. “This art will stand as a reminder of the bonds between our people and our shared struggle for both human dignity and our rights.”
Nearly 100 people gathered in their traditional South African attire to mingle and listen to popular Afrobeats music before the unveiling.
“For South Africa, Mandela remains the symbol of love, resilience and unity,” said Ricardo Mackenzie, the South African Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport for the Western Cape Government. “And for the global community, he reminds us that leadership is ultimately about service to humanity.”
The sculpture was created by Marco Olivier, a renowned South African artist and owner of a bronze foundry in Cape Town known for works made with resin and bronze that feature unique textures and paint effects.
Olivier said the sculpture was made from recycled ocean plastic collected by 200 volunteers then processed and turned into the statue. The entire process took him about three months.
“I love making human faces, and who better than to make an iconic leader, Nelson Mandela,” Olivier said. “At the end of the day, Mandela brought peace to our country and the transition between where we were and the future we have (today), which means a lot.”
The unveiling of the Mandela sculpture, located in the heart of the international terminal’s entryway, comes at a time when Atlanta is trying to solidify its relationship with South Africa.
South Africa is also one of eight teams that will be playing in Atlanta during the FIFA World Cup.
Mandela’s 1990 visit to Atlanta was historic and culturally significant.
Before speaking to more than 50,000 people at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, he laid a wreath at the crypt of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke at Big Bethel AME Church and was presented with honorary degrees by several of Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities at a ceremony at Morehouse College.
In his address, Mandela linked his people’s struggle against racial discrimination to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
“We are … conscious that here in the Southern part of the country, you have experienced the degradation of racial segregation,” he declared. “We continue to be inspired by the knowledge that in the face of your own difficulties, you are in the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement in this country.”
Atlanta and South Africa’s relationship strengthened during Dickens’ 2024 trip to South Africa, where he attended FAME week, a celebration dedicated to bringing African nations together through film and art, linking back to Atlanta’s major film and entertainment business.
Dickens said Cape Town officials told him Atlanta was the only city in the world they wanted to feature.
“It was a way to do a business exchange of all the creatives of Atlanta and South Africa and to bring them together,” Dickens said.
After Dickens’ time in Cape Town, Mackenzie and Olivier decided to gift the sculpture to Atlanta through the mayor, calling the cities “sister cities.”
Dickens said he decided to place the sculpture in the airport so everyone who comes through the international terminal sees the connection between Atlanta and South Africa.
“Mandela always fought for peace and bringing people together,” Mackenzie said. “It’s important for millions of people who travel through this airport that the first face they see is a man whose values are just peace and reconciliation.”
About the Author
K'mari Greene is a senior journalism student at North Carolina Central University from Chesapeake, VA. She joined the AJC in 2026 as a reporter for UATL.