Michelle Obama heard stories of South Africa's racist past Tuesday from Nelson Mandela, the country's first black president who was imprisoned for 27 years in his struggle against brutal apartheid rule.
Now 92 and largely retired from public life, Mandela sent word he wanted to meet with the first lady at his home while she was at his foundation viewing some of his personal papers.
The first lady was joined by her daughters, Malia, 12, and Sasha, 10, her mother, Marian Robinson, and Obama's niece and nephew, Leslie Robinson, 15, and Avery Robinson. Mandela was accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel, a former first lady of both South Africa and Mozambique.
The Obama family spent about 20 minutes with Mandela, who wore one of his trademark shirts, richly patterned and buttoned at the neck. A photo distributed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation showed a healthy-looking Mandela sitting on a couch next to Obama. He held a pen and appeared ready to sign an advance copy of his new book, "Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorized Quotations Book."
Obama came to Africa partly to promote her own causes and partly because President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, is unlikely to make another trip to his ancestral homeland before his term ends in a year and a half.
Rose Nkosi, 61, who sells fruit and snacks from a street stall in Johannesburg, said she "would love so much, so much" to see the president himself. She said that, in South Africa and the U.S., "no one thought a black person can rule. But it's happened."
Wilkista Akinyi of Kenya, a 20-year-old who works with poor girls who recently graduated from high school, said she's glad Michelle Obama came instead of her husband. Akinyi said she wants to encourage women to look to other women.
"Women don't believe in fellow women leaders," she said.
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