charlayne hunter gault, what a ceremony, what a week, what a day. about it. >> thank you gwen for having me to tell you about it because it has been quite a week and quite a day. of course getting the news was stunning, even though we all anticipated it and that's what everybody i know both here and in the united states is saying. you know, even though people knew that the end was near, when it came, people were very sad. and getting ready for this day as you've seen the crowds, you all here in south africa, no one talks about death or dying, they talk about passing on or transitioning. so the celebrations didn't come as a surprise to me because when people do transition, many south africans traditional ones still go to the grave site and talk to the ancestors for advice and they come away thinking that they've gotten some help solving their problems. and now madiba the father, tata is an ancestor. and of course today was just a joyful time for the people of south africa. the stores were all open but the people and the rains were pouring. but people

love ethic and tremendous force for good was the basis of real democracy in south africa. >> charlayne hunterlt, he said he didn't make moral choices, necessarily, about what tactics to use, about whether to use violence or not. he was interested in the strategy that would work and he was very impatient with some people who advocated violence specifically on the grounds that it would not work. >> well, you know, at a certain point he realized that the government was not listening and, you know, although there were many in the world who condemned violence, archbishop, one of the icons of peace in the world, talked about the just war and that was ma mandela and his comrades launched. it was a just war. and i have to say that, you know, even as mandela was in prison and so many people, you know, were unable to see him, there was a movement that reported his goal of a free south africa that was launched around the world and so it was the world's activism, including those in the united states and elsewhere who carried mandela's message even though he was in prison and worked hard, including the sa

charlayne hunter-gault knew nelson mandela.nterviewed him just after he was released from prison in 1990. always good to see you. >> happy to be here. >> for people who live here, it's almost counterintuitive to see the celebrations and dancing. you lived there. you spent time with nelson mandela and his family. help us understand what it must be like there now. >> well, i think that generally when people transition, as the south africans say. they don't say die or whatever. they see them moving to a higher place, but they see them still spiritually connected. so they go to the grave and they speak as they say to the an s ancesto ancestors. so now he has become an ancestor. i see a lot of young people there who are called born frees. they were born after nelson mandela's release. so they don't know the struggle history. but they know the blueprint he laid out for renaissance. i think they're celebrating that and the fact they have an ancestor now they can directly communicate with. >> there are so many things you can say about

let me bring in charlayne hunter and we have with us former u.n. ambassador. last night watching the coverage and reading and i cannot recall as a journalist seeing so many journalists take great pride and say i interviewed him at this time. there was one after another. the list goes on and on of people who held this interview with nelson mandela in a sacred box almost separate from any other interview. >> i know, we all talk about objectivity but we're all creatures of our environment, our background and experiences and just this morning a friend sent me a youtube clip and reminded me that after every new year's eve party that my husband and i used to go to new york, bring back, nelson mandela, the great song. i don't know. i think he rose above -- >> there was a time when he was judged. but i don't think those doing the judging look like us. there came a time when we african-american journalists brought a new perspective looking at the free south african movement and nelson mandela. there were others like tom brokaw and any number i can use, can name, but i

charlayne hunter-gault, reverend al sharpton, great to see you. among those reacting to mandela's death is muhammad ali. he said he was a spirit born free destined to soar above the rainbows. today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. he is now forever free. oprah winfrey releasing the statement saying he's everything you ever heard and unscathed by bitterness. and he always loved to tell a good joke. and paul simon said, he conceived a model for mortal enemies to overcome their hatred and find a way through compassion to rebuild a nation based on truth, justice, and the power of forgiveness. we'll have special coverage throughout this how. and we'll go to the white house and explore the special connection between mandela and president obama. then on to capitol hill where senator leahy was there in the 1990s. then i'll be joined by martin luther king iii. and we want to use today's question for you and get your thoughts for nelson mandela. how will you remember him and his legacy? >>> coming up next, we're getting into other big headlines of

we are joined here in south africa by nbc news special correspondent charlayne hunter-gault, a long-time responsibility who has lived here for 16 years now. and you've come to know the mandela family well. what do you hear tonight? >> you know, i think that they like the rest of south africa had their moments of sadness. and now they're celebrating his life. they are -- i spoke with venzi mandela a few moments ago, and she wanted the world to know that first of all, she took out solar lanterns to the children. you saw pictures of the children earlier. she wanted them to have this light to the remember that her father loved children. she said she wanted the world to embrace one word. forgiveness. i thought that was interesting. you know, she was the one who, i think around 22 years old when mandela was in prison and wanted to get a message to his followers to keep going and keep the struggle going, and winnie was banned, the mother, and so she was the one that read the speech. so i think it's great she's now telling the world what she thinks her father would want them to remember. >> i'm

charlayne hunter dahl, once americans got to meet and know nelson mandela i know this is true in your case, the common denominator, often, was the struggler in the united states versus what wasin going on here which was, of course, bylaw as harsh as it gets, as suppressive as it gets, but nelson mandela at some pointas learned your ow personal history, which i hope you don't mind me saying involves you being y one of the first two african-american students att the university of georgia, 1961. it was a big deal and a big story at the time. >> well, you know, these relationships areim intertwined the civil rights movement and the, movement to free south africa. you know, they're parallel histories. many objective, freedom and equality. many don't know this because they associatete martin luther king primarily wir the civil rights movement, but when mandela was in prison, he went in '61-62, martin luther king spoke and described south african s racism as the worst i the world and he says even denying the blacks of basic right of non-violent protest. of course, everybody is mandela to gan

it's been great having you charlayne hunter-gault. >> it's been great being here. >>> now to breaking news back home. there has been a deal announced on capitol hill in washington that will avoid another government shutdown in early january. kelly o'donnell on the hill tonight for us with details. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the usual washington dysfunction is on hold tonight. a bipartisan compromise was just announced that would keep the government open and running for two years. it would also roll back some of the harshest automatic spending cuts, the sequester for the pentagon, the domestic programs. there are no new taxes but you will pay new fees for airline travel. and federal workers are being asked to contribute more for their pensions. this does not extend jobless benefits for those out of work the longest. and it still has to be passed, but that's expected before congress goes home for the holidays. brian? >> kelly o'donnell, capitol hill in washington. kelly, thanks. >>> also the story in nevada a story that got a lot of attention. the desperate s

. >> nbc news special correspondent, the great charlayne hunter-gault, thank you for your time.ining me now, south africa's ambassador to the united states, ibrahim rasual. i can imagine the heartache that you are feeling and everyone in south africa is feeling on this night. >> i think heartache is an understatement. i think that we really, as a nation, despite having anticipated that mr. mandela must go some time, that we really remain shocked that it has actually come to pass. i think that it's a shock filled with anxiety about life after nelson mandela. and i believe that every south african, wherever they stood in the apartheid years and wherever they've stood for the last 20 years, are absolutely united in their grief for nelson mandela's departure. and every south african are united, i hope, in the understanding that we need to emulate him. we need to live up to the values and the ideals that he had stood for and that we need to find our better selves in order for us to make us a success of south africa. >> is there love -- love for nelson mandela among white south africa

again, we go to nbc news special correspondent charlayne hunter-gault. exactly what you said in the first half hour coming true on that suburban street in johannesburg. no one is crying. talk about the paternal hold this man had on the population and now the celebration of his life. >> he's the most beloved man in the world especially in south africa, even among the young people out there who are called born frees. they were born after the end of apartheid. many like our born frees in america who don't remember much about the civil rights movement don't remember much about his life. they know what he stood for. i think, you know, today in south africa, even when people wake up in the morning because most people don't know he's transitioned and i use that word because in south africa, people don't talk about death and dying. they talk about transitioning and it's a happy time, and i'm sure they're going to be celebrating his life. i hope they will be teaching, teaching, teaching what nelson mandela stood for. this is a moment to teach. it's a teachable mo

we want to head back to new york in the studio is nbc news contributor charlayne hunter gauld.hanks for being with us. >> happy to be here. >> you have been a pioneer in your own right. in 1961 were one of two african-american students to be the first to enroll at university of georgia. and i have to think at that time it must have seemed impossible that in this country we would now have seen the election of the first african-american president. for mandela, when he started his journey to also be seemingly impossible to end apartheid, how did he overcome that mental block of tackling something that seems so intractable and impossible? >> i guess it was the same way so many young people in america as well as south africa overcame the mental block of fighting against an unjust system. young people in this country change the face of the south and therefore america before the eyes of the world. you know, the struggle in south africa had ebbs and flows, even during the time mandela was in prison and so it was the young people in 1976 who rose up and launched a new phase of the strug

charlayne hunter-gault, how do we say thank you enough for everything you've provided us over these lastouple days? look forward to your coverage for the next new days. >> my pleasure. >> all right. turning now to this nasty winter storm that domestically has been anging around for day, it will deliver one more parting shot in the northeast br heading offshore. as you can see, it is snowing? washington, d.c. public schools are closed. kids in philadelphia and baltimore are also having a snow day. bill karins is tracking the storm for us. bill, everybody said this storm was going to be a quick storm. >> that's it. >>> but a powerful one. >> it just depends where you live, right? chuck, arias around downtown d.c., the pavement's just wet. it was too warm, a little bit of a heat eiland effect in the city. same for areas of new york city. don't expect anything in the city. the suburbs is where we've seen the worst of it. at airports which are located in the suburbs, that's where delays are piling up. ground stop unless philly and new york, reporting about fuhr to five-hour delays at the airp

mandela and his movement would ultimately move back toward nonviolent resistance but charlayne hunter-gaultnt on this show last night about mandela's decision during his 2 years behind bars. >> reporter: at one point they asked him if he would give up violence, they would release him. and he said no, i'm not going to do that. >> to the end of his days, he held out the legitimacy of armed struggle. that's something we grabble with as this great reconciler. he was a revolutionary. he came to believe that only through hardship and sacrifice and militant action can freedom only be won. we're going to talk about that coming up. [ delavane ] priority boarding is really important to us. you can just get on the plane and relax. [ julian ] having a card that doesn't charge you foreign transaction fees saves me a ton of money. [ delavane ] we can go to any country and spend money the way we would in the u.s. when i spend money on this card, i can see brazil in my future. [ anthony ] i use the explorer card to earn miles in order to go visit my family, which means a lot to me. ♪ i love chalk and erase

charlayne hunter-gault, our special correspondent lived in south africa for many years and she knew mandelanice to see you. >> the moral giant of the 20th and 21st century. freedom's champion. other titles. superlatives that go on and on. we tend to overuse those words but in this case it's fitting. >> it is fitting. i said last night, often when some great man dies we have to wait for the judgment of history. we don't need to in mandela's case. it was an extraordinary moment in the 20th century and it spilled over into the 21st century. i have also been thinking he came in 1990 out of prison, he was proceeded by mikhail gorbachev by the changing of the soviet union. and in his own way, in china, that was an extraordinary time in america in liberating people from oppression economic and political he felt. >> his legacy is freedom but his legacy for humanity is this radical forgiveness that he practiced, that the very moment he could have descended into bitterness, he instead made peace, showed love, and changed the country. charlayne, where did that come from? >> i think he knew the dynamic