He was born in 1918 in the Thembu tribe as the son of a tribal chief. An elementary school teacher gave Mandela the name Nelson. Being an artifact of the British colony in Africa, offering a Christian name to the children starting education become a tradition. Mandela, also known as Madiba, in South Africa is also mentioned by name. Madiba is the tribal name of which Mandela was a member, and in that land, the tribal name is even more important than his last name.

As the PRESENT Team, we are proud to celebrate Pride Month for the second year! Since the current pandemic was an unexpected opportunity for queer people to explore their sexuality and gender identity during isolation, many celebrities also came out as a part of the LGBTQ+ community which created both backlash and a sea of support from the public. In order to celebrate their achievements and queer identity, we chose Elliot Page as the Person of the Month for this month! Celebrating their identity is as important as acknowledging their path to arrive at this point, then let’s start with their early life and career.

Alan L. Hart was born Alberta Lucille Hall on October 4, 1890. When he was just 2 years old, his father died due to typhoid, and his mother took him and relocated to her father's farm. Growing up, it was obvious that he was not interested in "girly" things. What was natural for Alan L. Hart was being a boy. He felt most comfortable in short hair and trousers. He hated domestic tasks which were traditionally attributed to women and preferred working with other men in the field as well as playing war games and sports with his peers.

Ülkü (Çukurluoğlu) Adatepe, was born on 27th November 1932 in Ankara, the fresh capital of the newly established Republic of Turkey. She was the daughter of Vasfiye Hanım, who was the adopted child of Zübeyde Hanım (Atatürk’s mother) and had grown up near her, and Mehmet Tahsin Çukurluoğlu, a French tutor and a station master. The name “Ülkü” (meaning the ultimate goal, the aim wanted to be reached) was given to her under Atatürk’s special request.

“Freedom is always, and exclusively, freedom for the one who thinks differently.”
A Polish-born German, Jewish, woman, disabled, political refugee; yet an aspiring, committed fighter: Dr. Rosa Luxemburg.
Rosa Luxemburg, born on March 5th, 1871 in Poland, which was then a part of the massive Russian Empire, was a socialist revolutionary and an agitator, who had played a significant role in history.

December 1st, 1955. Rosa Parks took her seat on the bus home after a long day at work. These buses were different to the ones we are used to. In 1955’s USA, they had two sections, Whites and Colored. As if that was not dehumanizing enough on its own, if a white person got on the bus and the white seats were full, black people had to get up and give their seat to them. It is hard to imagine how such a discriminatory act could be legal today, let alone as pervasive and widespread as it was back then.