MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) —Beverly Robertson, President of the Memphis National Civil Rights Museum is paying tribute to the late Nelson Mandela as "a great soldier and a courageous leader."
Robertson notes the museum honored Mandela in 2000 with the Freedom Award for "his tremendous impact on human rights for Africans, but also for people throughout the world."
Robertson says Mandela cried when he visited the museum and noted he was moved by the tribute to the civil rights movement and the Rev. Martin Luther King, who was killed in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, where the museum now stands.
Robertson says, "We are saddened by his transition, but we will forever remember his sacrifice and contribution."