Nelson Mandela: The Living Legend

Nelson Mandela did some helpful things in his life but other people thought it was unacceptable and so he went to jail for no reason. Nelson Mandela was a great leader and left a legacy by winning epic political battles, by making everyone have their rights, and he was president not for the rich stuff but to help out with people’s health, housing, and education. In these next paragraphs they will talk about Nelson Mandela’s childhood. Also about his life in jail and why he went to jail. Lastly, about his president life and how he became president.

Mandela was a very important leader in the struggle against apartheid. Like many other struggle leaders, he was thrown in jail more than once and spent 27 years of his life in jail. He became an important symbol for human rights and anti-apartheid campaigns all over the world. In 1990 he was finally released from jail, and he became an important leader in the talks with President F.W. de Klerk about a South Africa free from apartheid.

He believes in many great values that show he deserves his Noble Peace prize. "He considers feeling bitter and vengeful counterproductive and a waste of his valuable time." (Massaquoi 1). He believes in values that embody the human spirit. Nelson had no problem with accepting a joint Nobel Peace prize with president F.W. de klerk. Hans says "many of his followers felt that was inappropriate because F.W. didn't deserve it." (2). Even when someone didn't deserve the award he didn't complain about him having to share it with someone. He also believes in other values that reflect the human spirit. Hans says "He truly believes in the concept of a nonracial society and doesn't look at things in terms of black and white." (1). He believes all people are equal and doesn't care about skin color. He was able to accomplish great things in his life winning the Noble peace prize is only one of many.

Nelson Mandela’s influence is most evident on Americans politicians than anything else. “Late in the afternoon of Sunday, Feb 11, 1990, the gates of Victor Verster Prison opened and a historic moment millions of people around the planet had awaited for years was at hand: Nelson Mandela, the world’s most noted prisoner of Conscience, walked into the sunlight of freedom” (Fenton). Students who participated in the Divestment Protests in the late 1970’s felt as if they were a part of Mandela’s release from jail. During his first few months of freedom, Mandela became a global ambassador for the African National Congress. In March 1990, only weeks after release, he met with world leaders. In June he set out on a forty–five day, 15 nation tours. He met with several leaders on three continents. When the news leaked that Mandela would visit the US, hundreds of requests for appearances were submitted. “Mandela’s arrival in America on June 20th, 1990 created a sensation. More than 750,000 people lined up on the streets of Manhattan” to catch a sight of the former prisoner (Fenton). Nelson visited the

These huge happenings both removed the global communist threat and freed people from injustices, which created an illusion that the entire world was listening in on South Africa, expecting a revolutionary change. From the very beginning protesters, especially Nelson Mandela himself, were influenced by Gandhi and his Satyagraha campaign in India as it was in several ways a similar fight. They both took place in countries that had been colonised by Great Britain, they both fought against the discrimination and oppression of the population and were both led by world-renowned leaders that shared fundamental ideas of unity and compassion. However, Gandhi’s philosophy wasn’t something Mandela followed meticulously. One of the major differences between their methods of ruling is that Mandela used violence at times, as it came to a point where he saw it as a necessity. It is important to note that without Gandhi’s fight in India, the protesters in South Africa may never have had motivation enough to see the potential they held, and what a difference they could make by

The new system was called 'apartheid'.Apartheid forced white and non-white people to live in separate areas. Mandela and Oliver Tambo set up South Africa's first black law firm. Many poor people came to them for help.Mandela led young people in the ANC. Many white people, as well as black people, spoke out against apartheid. But to speak out was dangerous. In 1956, Mandela and 155 other people were arrested for treason. In 1960, people held a demonstration against apartheid at Sharpeville, near Johannesburg. The police shot dead 68 black people. The government blamed the ANC, and banned it. Mandela became leader of a secret army, known as 'Spear of the Nation'. He was hunted by the police. In 1956, Nelson Mandela, leader in African National Congress, an organization dedicated to protesting the South African Government policy of Apartheid, had been arrested for treason charges, but was acquitted. In 1962, 44 year old Nelson Mandela was arrested for trying to overthrow the pro-apartheid government and for illegally leaving South Africa. In 1964, when he was 46, he was sentenced to life in prison and was moved to Robben Island. In 1985, President P.W. Both offered to release Mandela, who had been moved to Pollsmoor

Nelson Mandela remains to be one of the most influential people in the history of South Africa. He defeated apartheid and transformed South Africa into one united nation. Mandela showed phat resiliency by going from prisoner to president, but before he could accomplish all of this, he had a lot of work to do. His main focuses were on the freedoms and obligations of his people. He compared the two words and showed us in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, what they meant to him.

Then in 1993, along with F.W. de Klerk, Nelson Mandela accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

While in prison he was only allowed one visitor a year and could only write or receive a single letter every six months. Despite Mandela’s harsh imprisonment conditions he remained significant in leading the movement against apartheid. He was able to organize protests from his prison cell, and help rally activists to make gains in ending apartheid. Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize Mandela was released from prison in 1990. After the ban from the African National Congress was lifted, Mandela joined and became the president. In 1993 Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk received the Nobel Peace Prize. Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first black president After huge political gains were made in the fight to end intense racial segregation, Mandela was elected as the first black President of South Africa. Mandela stressed peace and unity, encouraging Africans to forgive the white governments that had treated them so brutally. Mandela extended peace to whites, including his prison guards On the 20th anniversary of his prison release Mandela partook in a huge celebration held in his name. Even Mandela’s former prison guard was included in the celebration. At the age of 91 Mandela took this day to celebrate and further emphasize his message of peace to both blacks and whites. Mandela had a very long career, from the 1940s to the 1990s. It is important to remember that. He fought

The national party achieved power in South Africa in 1948 the government, usually comprised on “white people”, and racially segregated the country by a policy under the Apartheid legislation system. With this new policy in place the black South African people were forced to live segregated from the white people and use separate public facilities. There were many attempts to overthrow the Apartheid regime, it persisted to control for almost 50 years.

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

Nelson Mandela was the man who abolished Apartheid, freeing South Africa from the binds of racial segregation forever. However, it was not an easy road and Mandela needed patience, strength of character, focus, passion, understanding, perseverance, and most importantly, forgiveness, to achieve this. For more than forty years, black South Africans were subject to the harsh racial segregation of the Apartheid system; despite making up over 70% of South Africa’s population, they had little to no rights.

Imagine being systematically oppressed from the moment you exited the womb. All your civil rights, based on the amount of melanin in your skin. Drinking from the wrong water fountain, could even get you thrown into jail. Coincidently; this was the life, of black South Africans from the moment of Dutch colonization in 1652, to the first true democratic election in 1994. Apartheid, meaning “separateness” in Afrikaans; was legal segregation enforced by The National Party (NP) from 1948 to 1994. It legally imposed preexisting policies of racial discrimination on the Majority of the South African population. The entire basis of the racist policies, was the darker your complexion the less legal rights you had. Presumably this injustice, could have continued much longer if it weren’t for all involved in the fight against the NP, however the man who arguably contributed the most, was Nelson Mandela. He ended an apartheid, with both his philanthropy and political prowess. He united a nation that used to be segregated; which seemed a daunting task at the time, but through the sweat and bloodshed he achieved the impossible. This alone exhibited his heroic characteristics, but to be more precise: both his actions and inactions lead to his success. Furthermore, Mandela was both a strong leader and forgiving at the same-time. Being in the forefront of the abolishment movement, was an extremely risky move during the apartheid. He risked his life for what he believed in, and this personal

While in prison he was able to continue talks with President De Klerk of South Africa who released him from prison in 1990 and in 1993 he was given a Nobel Peace prize for his role in dismantling apartheid. This was also the year of the first all race election in over 300 years in South Africa. He was an advocate of promoting peace and equality on the national and global level. In later years Mandela spent his time as a woman’s rights activist and started a children’s fund to help children living in poverty as well as a campaign to fight AIDS which is what his son had died from.

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.