Linda Biehl

Linda Biehl (born 1943) is an American philanthropist and mother of Amy Biehl, an activist who was murdered in 1993 in South Africa. She is the co-founder and director of the United States-based Amy Biehl Foundation (with husband Peter Biehl) and the South African-based Amy Biehl Foundation Trust.

Linda Biehl
Born1943
Chicago, Illinois, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPhilanthropist
SpousePeter Biehl
Children4

Early life

Biehl was born in 1943 in Chicago.[1] She met her late husband Peter at Whittier College in California and they had four children together.[1] Before the death of her daughter Amy, she ran an American Indian art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[2]

Philanthropy

After the 1993 death of her daughter Amy in South Africa, the Biehl's supported the amnesty appeal, to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by those convicted of Amy's murder.[3] After a tour of the Cape Town townships, the couple started developing projects to continue their daughter's work.[4] They followed in 1994 by creating the Amy Biehl Foundation.[5] Linda continued her work after Peter passed away from colon cancer in 2002.[6]

In 2008, Biehl was awarded the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo in Bronze in South Africa, an award from the President.[7] The same year she was announced as the first Greely Scholar at University of Massachusetts Lowell.[8][9] She, along with husband Peter, was awarded the Aline and Norman Felton Humanitarian Award in 1999.[10]

In 2016 Biehl was hired as a consultant with Tyler Perry's Atlanta based production company to work on a movie about Amy's life and the relationship the family has with the two men convicted of her murder.[11] The movie, The Year of the Great Storm, was still in production as of January 2019.[12][13]

Citations
  1. "Linda Biehl (1943 - ) | The Presidency". www.thepresidency.gov.za. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  2. Vergnani, Linda (2001-01-19). "Parents of Slain Fulbright Scholar Embrace Her Cause in South Africa". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. "Linda Biehl and Easy Nofemela". The Forgiveness Project. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  4. "Forgiving the Unforgivable: Mom Worked With Daughter's Killers to Bring Hope to a Desperate Community". Good News Network. 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  5. "South African killers now work on behalf of their victim". Los Angeles Times. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  6. "Amy Biehl legacy: Reconciliation that spans generations". Orange County Register. 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  7. "Linda Biehl (1943 - ) | The Presidency". www.thepresidency.gov.za. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  8. "2008 Greeley Peace Scholar | Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies | PACSI | UMass Lowell". www.uml.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  9. "Linda Biehl to speak on restorative justice, Nelson Mandela and her daughter's death in Feb. 4 presentation | Kansas State University | News and Communications Services". www.k-state.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  10. "Death Penalty Focus: Annual Awards Dinner". 2008-02-28. Archived from the original on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  11. "Telling Amy Biehl's story nearly 23 years after her death, thanks to Tyler Perry". Orange County Register. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  12. "Tyler Perry to Produce Apartheid Murder Drama 'The Year of the Great Storm'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  13. D'Alessandro, Anthony (2019-03-05). "Media Farm Pictures Makes Three Picture Deal With Karzan Kader". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
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