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Watch the Soweto Gospel Choir’s touching flash mob tribute to Mandela

A day at the grocery store turns into a powerful tribute.

Photo of Audra Schroeder

Audra Schroeder

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As part of the Operation Smile Christmas Campaign, one Woolworths store in Johannesburg, South Africa had planned a performance from the Soweto Gospel Choir on Dec. 7. They were going to do a rendition of James Brown’s “I Feel Good,” but two days before, the world learned of the passing of Nelson Mandela. So they changed the plan.

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Instead, the choir chose to sing Johnny Clegg’s “Asimbonanga,” which became the rallying crying for Mandela’s freedom while imprisoned in the ‘80s. Members of the choir took a flash mob approach, and dressed as employees or patrons of the store. And as the first voice rings out, a normal day of grocery shopping suddenly turns into a powerful tribute.
 

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The song title translates to “We have not seen him,” and the lyrics take on an otherworldly context in the celebration of Mandela’s life and death. Clegg, a Brit by birth, formed one of the first racially integrated bands in South Africa, Juluka, in the late ‘60s, and later, Savuka in the ‘80s.

Screengrab via Woolworths SA/YouTube

 
The Daily Dot