Mandela, who became the first president of post-apartheid
South Africa, died on Thursday at the age of 95 at his home in
Johannesburg after a prolonged lung infection.
The high school in the borough of Brooklyn, slated to open in
September, will be named the Nelson Mandela School for Social
Justice, according to Bloomberg and the city's Schools
Chancellor Dennis Walcott.
The school will be carved out of an existing building at the
Boys and Girls High School campus, which Mandela visited in
1990.
The Boys and Girls High School has been under threat of closure
after failing three city reviews.
Throngs of admirers lined up to greet Mandela during his visit,
just months after he was released from 27 years in prison for
his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement.
Apartheid was repealed in 1991, and Mandela was elected
president three years later.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Bernadette Baum)
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