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Nelson Mandela is a Worldwide Influence

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Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” His life is a prime example of how passionately he believes these words. Even though he had to undergo many hardships, such as spending twenty-seven years in prison and battling tuberculosis, he never stopped striving to make a large impact on not only South Africa, but the world as well (Schoemaker). Nelson Mandela is a major worldwide influence due to his key role in the transformation of South Africa from apartheid to democracy, the numerous charities he established and supported, and his lifelong dedication to ending racial segregation permanently in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was …show more content…

They enforced segregation in things such as schools, hospitals, shops, and buses; with the blacks always having the worst quality of resources. Even the laws were different depending on skin color. If a black man was found raping a white woman, he would be sentenced life imprisonment, while a white man found raping a black woman would receive a small fine (Gilbert). Mandela fought against these injustices throughout his life and ended up with a life sentence in prison. Although Mandela’s jail sentence had a negative effect on the people of South Africa, it caused the rest of the world to begin taking notice. International businesses began boycotting South Africa in the 1980’s and young whites began voicing their opposition to the apartheid across the world. As a result, the National Party began secret negotiations with Mandela while he was in prison, and they began to cut back on segregation and lift the ban on the ANC. When Mandela was released from prison in 1990, he continued on with his fight to end segregation (Schoemaker). Mandela’s main goal was to create a “Rainbow Nation,” in which everyone, no matter their skin color, was free and had equal rights (Polgreen). “His insistence on forgiveness over vengeance made him a potent symbol of the struggle to end this country’s brutally codified system of racial domination, and the power of peaceful resolution in even the most intractable conflicts,” according to Lydia Polgreen.

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