VIEW OUR SPECIAL NEWDtv REPORT from MADIBA RESTAURANT on 12/6/13 in BROOKLYN, NY

Nelson Mandela, former South African president who spent 27 years as a political prisoner in his own country, died today at home. He was 95.

After being freed in 1990, the people of South Africa voted him in as the nation's first Black president.

"He is now resting, he is now at peace," said South African President Jacob Zuma. "Our people have lost their father."

Mandela had a number of issues with his health in recent years including repeated hospitalizations.

In April, Mandela spent 18 days in the hospital due to a lung infection and was treated for gall stones in December 2012.  Mandela had been listed in "serious but stable condition" after entering the hospital in June before returning to home in September for continued care.

Mandela's public appearances decreased 4 years ago as he dealt with his declining health.

"It's sad news but we rejoice in his legacy," said  Denis Dupreez, general manager of Madiba Restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. "It's a crushing moment but at the same time we are blessed with what he left us with. He didn't see color.  He took a way black and  white from our country.

His last public appearance was in July of 2010, when he attended the final match and closing ceremonies of the soccer World Cup held in South Africa.

A state funeral will be held, and Zuma called for mourners to conduct themselves with "the dignity and respect" that Mandela personified.

Though he was in power for only five years, Mandela was a symbol of freedom and revolution all around the world, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Television programs like A Different World, The Cosby show, and films, books and the like have been released in the past few decades to discuss his country's struggle of racial segregation to the "rainbow nation.

The Long Walk to Freedom - a Weinstein Co. film adaptation of the book written by Mandela in 1994 - starring Idris Elba as the South African icon, opened last Friday as a limited release and made about $100,300 through Sunday, averaging more than $25,000 per theater.

"Wherever we are in the country, wherever we are in the world, let us reaffirm his vision of a society… in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another," he said.