Nelson Mandela Essay

In 1952 Mandela traveled all across the country to help lead the African National Congress’s Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws. He travelled to organize protests against discriminatory policies, and to promote the manifesto known as the Freedom Charter ratified by the Congress of the People in 1955. In 1952 Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened the first black law firm, which offered free or low-cost legal counsel to those affected by apartheid legislation in 1952.

In the 1930’s it was rare for a black South African to attend college. But Mandela not only attended, he graduated, got a degree from law school, and set up a practice in Johannesburg which he hoped could support his small family. Yet apartheid was always a humiliation to him. When the Afrikaner, or Dutch South African, Nationalists came to power in the 1948 election, the segregation habits of the past three hundred years became law. Hoping for a brighter future, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became its first Youth Leader.

When we remember Nelson Mandela, most people think of social change, of leadership and of humanity. Mandela dedicated his life to his belief of equality and freedom for people in South Africa. As a strong supporter of freedom of speech, Mandela is one of the most revered speakers of the 20th century. He was born in a small village in the eastern cape of South Africa on July 18, 1918. Nelson studied law in the university of Fort Hare but never completed his degree. In 1941, he moved to Johannesburg where he encountered the racism led by the apartheid government. To further pursue his law studies, he began attending meetings of the ANC (African National Congress) – an anti-apartheid group. The ANC aimed to transform into a grassroots movement

     1942 started Nelson Mandela’s participation in the racial oppression in South Africa. He joined the African National Congress (ANC), led by Anton Lembede. In 1944, Mandela joined up with Walter Sisulu, William Nkomo, Oliver R. Tambo, and Ashby P.

Mandela was imprisoned in South Africa from 1964-82. During the period of his imprisonment his public reputation grew. Upon his release from prison, he was considered the most prominent leader in black South Africa and he was a strong symbol of resistance in the anti-apartheid movement. Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s president in 1994. His main leadership qualities characteristics were his determination, persistence, focus and will.

Nelson Mandela the only African student at the University of Witwatersrand and often faced racism. He befriended people of all race, religion and beliefs and joined the ANC (African National Congress) and was a very active member. He supported the views of Anton Lembede about Africans being independent in their own politics. Mandela was one of the many delegates that said for the ANC to have a youth wing and the ANCYL was created in 1944 on Easter. Mandela later was appointed secretary of the ANCYL after Lembede died (due to sickness) and Peter Mda was a declared president of the ANCYL. Mandela disagreed with Mda’s approach on cooperating with communists and non-blacks and in 1947 and supported an unsuccessful move to expel communists from the ANCYL since their belief was greatly considered un-African. That same year Mandela was elected to the executive committee of the Transvaal ANC and forced the resignation of C.S. Ramohanoe for cooperating with Indians and communists.

Nelson Mandela was elected as a secretary of the court to help develop a program for the youth league. The program of action called for a sequence of boycotts, strikes, and other forms of civil disobedience designed to end the law of white oppression in South Africa. Mandela was the leader of the ANC underground, which faced with the intense duty of the movement. During the white racist rule in South Africa, Mandela spent 27 years in prison. Nelson wanted rights for Black citizens.

During the reign of the Apartheid regime Nelson Mandela was born and raised. Nelson Mandela was a South African lawyer and prominent activist. He was also the leader of the African National Congress party and the first black President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He is known for his devotion and struggle against the Apartheid regime.

He opened the first black law firm in South Africa. Mandela was also a part of the African National Congress (ANC). Mandela and the ANC took part in many protests which included: burning statues, structures, passbooks, and anything that had significance to the apartheid. They traveled throughout South Africa to spread their campaign and tried to teach the country that everyone was equal. Laws were quickly established to banish the ANC from existence.

The moment the ANC was ostracised then Mandela searched to execute activity and to halt the injustice. "Over his 27 years in jail, Nelson Mandela became the symbol of an entire people's struggle against injustice"

In 1964, he was found guilty of sabotage and treason and spent three decades in the Robben Island Prison. Mandela turned the prison experience into an ANC school, teaching other blacks about politics and other freedom fighters like Gandhi (Lockard 959). Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid for years with protests/strikes and by leading the ANC.

Nelson Mandela was a man who learned from his previously violent ways and thoroughly used peace to his advantage in his fight against apartheid, and in the leading of South Africa. Nelson Mandela grew up as a peaceful person and in 1943 went to law school for his degree. While in law school, he got very interested in politics and joined a radical protest group, the African National Congress (The ANC). The ANC got into a lot of trouble with the government for their ideas about a place without apartheid. Mandela was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life in prison. The government let him out of

Mandela lived a long life and made so many differences for the people of today in

To begin, Nelson Mandela’s strong influence on dismantling Apartheid is seen through his strong political activism. In 1943, not only was Mandela a bright and young law student, but he also became the co-founder of ANCYL, the youth division of the ANC. He, along many other young activists, advocated for an opposition campaign against the racially divisive Apartheid laws (Engler). Nelson Mandela was a strong force and fought for racial equality. In South Africa at the time, a minority population of whites had

From 1964 to 1982, Mandela was kept in a maximum-security prison. In 1988, he was hospitalized for tuberculosis. Amidst increasing global pressures, the South African government under President F.W. de Klerk released Mandela from prison on February 11, 1990. On March 2, Mandela was chosen deputy president of the ANC, and he replaced the president in July 1991. Mandela and de Klerk worked to end apartheid and bring about a peaceful transition to nonracial democracy in South Africa.