- Photograph by
- Morey, Peter M., South African
- Subject of
- Mandela, Nelson, South African, 1918 - 2013
- Bridgewater, Pamela E., American, born 1947
- Swing, William Lacy, American, 1934 - 2021
- United States Department of State, American, founded 1789
- Owned by
- Bridgewater, Pamela E., American, born 1947
- Date
- 1990
- Medium
- dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper with wood and glass
- Dimensions
- H x W (a): 9 1/16 × 12 in. (23 × 30.5 cm)
- H x W x D (b): 12 3/16 × 16 1/4 × 1 in. (31 × 41.3 × 2.5 cm)
- Caption
- Bridgewater also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. As such, she had the distinction of being the longest-serving U. S. diplomat in South Africa, posted in Pretoria (1990 – 1993) and Durban (1993 – 1996) during the country’s transition from apartheid to a non-racial government. She was the first African American woman to serve as Consul General in Durban. Further, at the height of the last Liberian civil war, she was named Special Coordinator for Peace and led the U. S. delegation to peace talks.
- Description
- A framed photograph of then Political Officer with the State Department Pamela E. Bridgewater shaking hands with then Deputy President of the African National Congress Nelson Mandela. Captured from the waist up, both Bridgewater and Mandela appear in profile, looking at each other while grasping each other’s right hands. Bridgewater wears a turquoise suit jacket and Mandela is in a grey suit jacket and tie. Behind the pair are two men in dark suits and red ties and a woman is partially visible behind Bridgewater. The man on the left is the United States Ambassador to South Africa at the time, William Lacy Swing. The photograph was taken in an interior room with high windows and white walls, with a map mounted on the wall in the background.
- On the verso is a very faded inscription of “best wishes” signed to Bridgewater from Mandela along with a typed adhesive label for the photographer, Peter M. Morey of the Pretoria News. The photograph has a white and grey mat and gold wood frame.
- Place collected
- Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- chromogenic color prints
- Topic
- Activism
- Africa
- Civil rights
- Freedom
- Government
- International affairs
- Photography
- Politics
- Race relations
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pamela E. Bridgewater, United States Ambassador (Retired)
- Object number
- 2023.51.3ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- Unknown - Restrictions Possible
- Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




