Reaction Paper On Winnie Mandela

How much courage it takes to be a black woman during the apartheid and fight for people’s rights? South Africa was going through rough times of separation and political issues. It was year 1962 when Nelson Mandela was sent to prison, but that didn’t stop the desire for equality. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the second wife of Nelson Mandela, was dubbed the Mother of the Nation, because she was an international symbol of anti-apartheid struggle, and she fought bravely against discrimination.

Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.

My Analysis: Throughout Mandela’s mission, he drew inspiration from across the myriad of the ideological spectrum. Inspired by Gandhi, Mandela and the Anti-Apartheid mission discovered the foundation for the Defiance Campaign, M-Plan, and Programme of Action. When Mandela and the ANCYL felt the need for stronger resistance they found a new influence in Pan-African support and Frantz Fanon armed resistance. Mandela and the Anti-Apartheid movement represent the duality of political struggles capturing the anger that fuels an armed resistance and the hope that drives a pacifist movement.

Apartheid was a government system that South Africa used from the years 1948 to 1994 (“Frederik Willem De Klerk”). The word apartheid means separateness which is exactly what the government wanted

Apartheid originated as colonization came to an end in South Africa, in the hope of entirely segregating the nation. Under Apartheid, the rights of the majority black inhabitants were curtailed and the white minority rule was strengthened and put into action. Enforced through legislation by the National Party from 1948 to 1994, 3.5 million non-white South Africans were removed from their homes and forced into segregated neighborhoods, in one of the largest mass removals in modern history (Evans). The purpose of Apartheid was not only the separation of the races, but the separation of groups. White domination wanted to maintain power and did so through the enforcement of racist laws involving unequal social order (Apartheid). Apartheid forced South Africans into

Define the term “apartheid”, briefly discuss its historical context and the social/political rules and effects of this system in South Africa?

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.

Racial segregation is an issue all around the world, and has been for as far back as the 1800’s. In 1948, the South African government made apartheid a law which means that South Africa’s white minority and the non-white majority will be separated for everyday life. This caused issues and has a bad result for the apartheid supporters. The apartheid lasted for fifty two years ending in 1990; this law cause many economical, governmental, and segregational problems.

When most people think of a prominent figure in South Africa one name always comes to mind; Nelson Mandela. Imagine a time in South Africa when, similar to old America, whites held most of the power. Due to the previous conflicts of the European countries in South Africa, there were many Europeans who heavily discriminated against the original African people. This is exactly the type of place Mandela was born into. Born in 1918, his family was part of a common South African clan, where he always enjoyed hearing the elder’s stories. These stories consisted of the black Africans’ struggle against whites during the time of the Boer war (Nelson Mandela Center of Memory).

Throughout his long life, Nelson Mandela had come across countless obstacles which would have a detrimental effect on an average man. Mandela however fought these hardships constantly and always strived to gain freedom for his African race from the social and political system of Apartheid. Many of Mandela’s challenging events have been turned into advantages by either him or by the community which has supported him. This is shown with the example of the ‘Free Mandela’ Campaign, Defiance campaign and the ANC Youth league.

Throughout history, Racial segregation has been used as a means to power and control, often for a minority, and South Africa was no different in any manner, almost a perfect, textbook case of oppression. Source 1 explains how the Apartheid first began in the 1940’s, developed and used due to economic and political instability. The English and the Dutch controlled South Africa, vying for its fertile lands, people, and its profusion of precious and strategic minerals, leading to Boer War. When South Africa gained its independence from England, there was an internal power struggle for decades until the Afrikaner National Party devised the apartheid, enacting it in 1948 as a means to control the economic and social landscapes that they had lost their grasp on. The Apartheid, however, did not instantly create the

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

The movie “Winnie Mandela” was a movie that caught my attention, but it left me wanting to know more about Winnie as well as the relationship between Winnie and Nelson and their two daughters. I really think the movie was worth watching because it made me aware of the struggles people went through in South Africa, especially amongst the people that were using nonviolent protesting. However, I felt as if there was not enough information given. I had to look up more information because I wanted to know more besides what the movie gave me. I read about Nelson Mandela, but I never read about or watched a movie on Winnie Mandela and her life story. Thus, I will write about my reactions towards the movie, as well as how Winnie was a woman in a social movement.

The one thing that is certain is that we cannot choose the time and place for which we are born. To make an everlasting impact on a nation is something quite remarkable and extremely rare – especially as a black living in South Africa in the middle of the 20th century. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the wife of Nelson Mandela, broke barriers and will forever stand as one of the most influential women in South African history. Her determination combined with her natural intelligence led her to the place where her impact would be felt for generations to come.

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.