What Made Non Violence Work

While when discussing the history of the world’s power forces, violence makes for stimulating discussion, other tactics were put to good use, one of these alternatives being non-violence. With the guidance of three worldwide heroes - Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela - with contagious optimism and high spirits, it became apparent just how much of a difference could be made carried out through non-violent terms. Mankind was introduced to another way to resolve major problems just as effectively, if not more, than violence could.

“From 1960 to 1983 3.5 million non white South africans were taken from their home and were involuntarily put into segregated neighborhood made for them.”(rights). 1970, non whites South Africans were not allowed apart on the political side of South Africa. They were banned from doing anything with the whites of South africa; The non whites were stripped of their citizenship. About that time Nelson Mandela was 25 years old, he became involved with politics. He became a part of the ANC, or the African National Congress. The ANC began going on strikes and boycotting after the general election in South Africa in 1948 in which whites were only allowed to vote. “ At a rally on 22 June 1952, initiating protests for the ANC’s Defiance Campaign Against

Mandela once said, “A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness.” (Page 32). This quote is an accurate description of all the people who supported the apartheid in South Africa starting when the National Party was elected in 1948. Knowing why this happened and what brought the apartheid to an end is vital to not making the same detrimental mistake again. Apartheid came to an end because of internal unrest, external pressure, and great leaders.

As a result of racial segregation in both the United States and South Africa, the coloured people’s resistance escalated. In truth, this time of division strengthened nationalism – their weapon that “[transformed their] common suffering into hope for the future” (Mandela, Notes to the Future 2012, 84). Moreover, the American Jim Crow Laws and South African apartheid led to discrimination, activism, reform and most importantly reconciliation.

It has been debated though out history whether or not nonviolence “works”. Many societies, and this without question includes the United States, have mostly relied on violent tactics. Many people believe that violence is the only way to stop wars, even though it creates war, and people tend to believe that violence is the one solution to many global and political problems. However, recent literature and research is starting to prove otherwise. Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist, recently published a book, Why Civil Resistance Works in 2011. The research highlights data that shows throughout history, nonviolent tactics are more effective than violent ones in various ways.

All religions called for nonviolent principles that are based on peaceful strategies to reach goals. Nonviolence seeks understanding and justice instead of riot or tumult. In fact, the first time for someone to use this method was in India by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948), he believed that he can stand against the British and bring independence to India using civil disobedience. Also, Anwar El Sadat used the non violence method with Israel when he signed the “ peace” agreement in order to avoid a war. Therefor, the non violence technique is very effective which lead Luther king Jr. to call upon Gandhi's method and make use of it to attain equality between black and white people. In my opinion, applying the non violence method is truly

In today’s world it’s hard to even imagine a country that has no conflicts. The world tends to find a way to become violent around every corner. Is there a country on this planet that has not gone to war or dealt with an internal conflict of some kind? Sadly, the short answer is no. Be that as it may there are still some countries out there that have seen far less conflicts that the typical fighting countries. Out of one hundred and ninety six countries in the world, Switzerland has earned the gold badge of peace for planet earth, but even first place has a body count. This study is on why that is.

In addition, an effort for the elimination of apartheid, was when Nelson Mandela co- founded the ANCYL, the youth department for the ANC, in 1943. “For decades after South Africa’s declaration of Grand Apartheid in 1948, Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC), galvanized a massive international solidarity effort to pursue divestment and economic sanctions. ”(Nelson Mandela’s Legacy).To clarify, in 1948, Mandela and his group of the African National Congress took to action a large, international solidarity attempt to follow the divestment and economic punishments on South Africa. After the campaign for the end of apartheid, Mandela, along with others, were taken to jail and even there the white minority group felt they imposed a threat.

Yes, I am very familiar with non-violence. When I think of non-violence, I definitely have someone in mind that I think of when the topic is brought to attention. This person is my mother. My mother solves all of her problems with a non-violent solution. She uses non-violence as a way to resolve all of her conflicts and meet goals she sets for herself. As my mother is a broker, she deals with private clients that invest their money in her in sometimes stressful situations, so it is important for her to keep a calm mentality and deal with her clients in a way that does not provoke the client to make rash decisions. My mother

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

The population of South Africa were segregated into categouries of Coloured, Black, White and Indian. Black South African lives were affected in many different ways and it still is today. Apartheid meant great hardship, it meant that Black people were unable to live a reasonable life. All natural civil rights were taken away from them. Public beaches, drive-in cinema parking spaces, graveyards, parks and public toilets are just a few things that were racially segregated. You can say that the church was on of few places races could mix without breaking the law. (Wikipedia, 2013)

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

Topic Sentence: South Africa was colonized by the Dutch and British during the 17th century, and the British torment of the Dutch led them to become highly nationalistic and even more proud of their white heritage than the Dutch in Holland; their hubris is what led Afrikaners to institutionalize blatant racism.

Seventeen years have passed and the Apartheid era has ended, but the legacy it has left behind has caused South Africa’s rehabilitation and self-determination to be an obstructed undertaking. Unaddressed security problems of belligerent crimes and HIV/AIDS are a direct cause of the failure to manage the aforementioned legacy (Vercillo n.p.). Back in 1947, the growing desegregation which was caused by the liberation of India and Pakistan, helped spread the evidential racial equality. The Afrikaaner Nationalists of South Africa, led by Dr. Malan, believed that the whites were a superior race and that the blacks were a subservient people; a menace in society that the whites must be protected from. In 1948, when the Nationalists won the