He’s received a lifetime of prestigious awards, but he doesn’t care about them.
University law professor Ibrahim Gassama was recently awarded the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award for exemplifying King’s ideals. But with his characteristic humility, Gassama said he has no idea why he received the award and knows at least a dozen other people who deserve it more.
“Awards are very traumatic for me,” Gassama said. “I would have nominated (my colleagues) if I had known about it. I offered to let them give it to someone else.”
But there is history to the man that the award doesn’t recognize. Gassama, who has worked at the University for more than a decade, helped free Nelson Mandela, overseen the first free election in South Africa, spoken with Fidel Castro and is the proud father of an 11-year-old daughter.
International and human rights law was a natural fit for Gassama. He was raised in Sierra Leone and said “when you grow up in a third-world country, it’s really easy to get interested in the rest of the world.”
He moved from Sierra Leone to the United States in 1975. He went to Virginia Tech, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. He then attended Harvard Law School and passed the bar exam in New York in 1985.
After Gassama finished school, he joined TransAfrica, a lobbyist human rights organization, and worked to end apartheid in South Africa. After Nelson Mandela was freed in 1990, Gassama headed the U.S. non-government elections observation group for the first election in South Africa. He also recruited and trained 300 American elections observers. Then he became a professor in conjunction with his human rights work, which takes him around the world.
“After Nelson Mandela was freed, I was looking for something else
to do,” Gassama said. “It was a
big moment in human rights, and
it seemed like an important
moment to move into something else. So I took advice to go into teaching law.”
Gassama has a contagious
passion for his job, colleagues
and students. He says his colleagues are the reason he has stayed at
the University.
“I love my colleagues. They are the most fair, extremely brilliant, energetic group,” Gassama said. “And my students: It’s really almost intoxicating to hear from bright young people who want to hear your stories and are eager to learn.”
The stories that Gassama tells are fascinating. He recently traveled to Cuba for educational purposes and had the opportunity to meet with Castro. He said his conversation with Castro is one that has stayed with him.
“We asked him about racism in Cuba and he said ‘I’m so sorry to tell you that in Cuba there is still racism,’” Gassama said. “Then
we asked why. He said ‘I do not know. You should ask a psychologist. It is not a problem with the law, but you cannot change the mind with the law.’”
Another recent trip took Gassama back to his childhood home of Sierra Leone, north of Liberia on Africa’s west coast, which has been devastated by a 12-year civil war, one of the worst wars in history. Gassama had not been back for 27 years since he left in 1975 and took a helicopter tour of the area, observing the complete devastation.
He said virtually all the buildings and homes have been destroyed, but the house he was born in was still standing.
“It was the most personally fulfilling trip,” Gassama said. “It was the most exciting and the one that I dreaded the most, but felt that I had to do. It was an extraordinary moment, going back to the house where I was born. It was truly something special.”
Gassama, who received the
annual award on Jan. 27 with three
others at the University, said
he doesn’t understand why he received the award, but his colleagues certainly do.
“(Gassama) has been incredibly instrumental in different human rights issues,” law professor Garrett Epps said. “But he is also a very important guy inside the building and does the things that you don’t get awards for. He will be asked to handle many different types of situations and will always do it. He has kept things running here.”
The awards that bring Gassama
him the most pride aren’t given by
a committee.
Gassama drives his daughter, Fatima, to and from school every day and calls her his life and joy. His eyes light up and a smile spreads across his face when he talks about her. Her picture is displayed prominently on the center of his desk.
Gassama gets a similar look in his eyes when talking about his students. He says that getting calls from students is the most rewarding part of his career.
“There is a guy that was in one of my classes and is now in Afghanistan,” Gassama said. “He is dealing with mercy killings and standing up for the law. I feel pride, and it gives me so much joy to see what my students are doing.”
He also has a post-it note on his door that a student left him while he was out, and Gassama said he has left it up as a reminder to pray for the student.
“Outside of my daughter, who is my life and joy, my students make me feel like my life is worth it
and my presence on earth
has meaning.”
