AllMovie

This ABC News special features the first interview granted by Nelson Mandela on his 1990 visit to the United States. Mr. Mandela speaks with Ted Koppel for 71 minutes and answers questions from the studio audience. Topics covered include his 27 years in South Africa's prisons, the struggle against apartheid and its eventual collapse, and the future of a united South Africa. News footage and analysis bookend the interview and place the viewer unfamiliar with events in context. Serious in tone, this lengthy interview with one of this century's most fascinating figures is certainly appropriate for both high school and college classrooms.