Manhattan College Welcomes Ndaba Mandela, Chris Hayes to Campus This Fall

Ndaba Mandela, founder and chairman of the Africa Rising Foundation, and Chris Hayes, host of MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes,” will be two of the speakers during Manhattan College’s Annual Student Engagement Lecture Series this fall. A third speaker will be announced at a later date.

Mandela will speak at the College on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at noon on the fifth floor of the Kelly Commons, and Hayes will deliver his talk on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at noon, also on the fifth floor of Kelly Commons. There will be a question and answer session at each event.

Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Nelson Mandela, Ndaba Mandela has continued his grandfather’s legacy, fueling his beacon of hope and message that one person can make a difference.

Recently named one of the “28 Men of Change” by Black Entertainment Television, Mandela was born in Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa. He received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pretoria in 2008, majoring in political science and international relations.

Shortly after that, he joined the Embassy of Japan in Pretoria working as a senior political consultant, focused mainly on South Africa, and later joined Investec Asset Management. After a year he left to pursue his socio-economic development ambitions by dedicating his time to the foundation he founded called Africa Rising. Africa Rising’s vision is to be a catalyst in creating a new breed of young Africans that will empower themselves to be at the forefront of Africa’s development.

Emmy-winning Chris Hayes hosts "All In with Chris Hayes" at 8 p.m. Eastern Monday through Friday on MSNBC. His recent book, “A Colony In A Nation” is a New York Times best best-seller.

Previously Hayes hosted the weekend program "Up w/ Chris Hayes," which premiered in 2011. Prior to joining MSNBC as an anchor, he had served as a frequent substitute host for "The Rachel Maddow Show" and "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell." Hayes became a MSNBC contributor in 2010 and has been with "The Nation" since 2007.

Hayes is a former Fellow at Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. From 2008-10, he was a Bernard Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation. From 2005 to 2006, he was a Schumann Center Writing Fellow at In These Times.

Since 2002, Hayes has written on a wide variety of political and social issues, from union organizing and economic democracy, to the intersection of politics and technology. His essays, articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, The Nation, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, The Guardian, and The Chicago Reader.

Hayes' first book, "Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy," which is about the crisis of authority in American life, was published in June 2012 and became a New York Times best-seller.

Hayes grew up in the Bronx and graduated from Brown University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. He lives in New York with his wife and two children.

Both events are free and open to the public. If you need any more information about the Student Engagement Lecture Series, contact John Bennett at john.bennett@manhattan.edu.