Mandela

Nelson Mandela "I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses"(Mandela). These are the words of a man, Nelson Mandela, who fought for something that many would shy away from. He led the anti-apartheid movement, became the president of the African National Congress Youth League, and later became the president of South Africa winning the Nobel Peace Prize. When joining the African National Congress Mandela himself was a very well education man who got his degree law. Nelson served many years in prison for fighting what was right for his country, and that was freedom and peace for South Africa. During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom. He has done great leads in his times as a African man. Nevertheless, Mandela, long time anti-apartheid activist and leader in the African National Congress (ANC), continued the struggle for his dream of a multicultural nation. Some have expressed the opinion that though the African National Congress was without a doubt instrumental in the peaceful and how democratic revolution was ending. This paper will examine the actions taken by Mandela to transform the ANC into an agent for change and for the eventual eradication of apartheid. Evidence will be introduce to support the contention that, without Mandela, the ANC would not have taken the steps necessary to bring about meaningful political changes in South Africa. "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought again white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. (John, Hunt 83-85)" These were Nelson Mandela's last words before being sentenced to life imprisonment for recruiting and training for the purpose of sabotage and violent revolution. As a result of love and dedication to both his people and nation, the ideal that Mandela expresses has become reality. Through his leadership, Nelson Mandela transformed the African National Congress [ANC] from a resistance group to a legitimate alternative to the ruling government of South Africa.( Ottaway, 35-36) During the same time of his transformation, in 1948 to 1994 apartheid was enforced in South Africa. Apartheid was the name given to a form of legal segregation is South Africa. Apartheid first came about in 1948 when South Africa's National party took power. South Africa's government broke the country's population into four groups. Those groups were the whites, who consisted of approximately 13 percent of the population, Africans, who were 77 percent of the population, people who were of mixed descent comprised eight percent of the population, and Asians who were only 2 percent of the population. South Africa's government set aside certain lands for each of the groups, and those groups were forced to live in those homelands. Besides residential segregation many other restrictions were placed on the black men and women of South Africa. For half of a century, these racist laws remained in place, completely unchanged. According to an article, in the 1970's and 1980's the government in South Africa relaxed the laws slightly. "Some of these changes included desegregating certain public facilities, lifting some occupational restriction, and repealing the law prohibiting intermarriage that had been in use since apartheid began"(John, Hunt 70-72) In 1983, the constitution allowed Asians and colored's, but not blacks to have limited representation in the usually all white parliament which made Mandela act in abolishing the discrimination in Africa. 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.(Benson,5) Mandela had a vision for South Africa, of which he was incredibly dedicated. During his famous speech entitled ‘I am Prepared to Die’ (1964), he stated, "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to see realized. But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Nelson Mandela was sent to prison in 1962 after the infamous Sharpeville Massacre, the result of a violent approach to equality. During the 27 years he was in prison, Mandela changed his approach to finding and keeping peace, according to a journalist.(Sparks) According to The Struggle Against Apartheid, Mandela was an anti-apartheid person who wanted to get rid of the discrimination between the white man and the Africans. Also, according to Ottaway, The Struggle to Remake South Africa, all black citizens were forced to carry passbooks stating all of their information. Two laws, which were at the heart of apartheid, included the Population Registration Act, which labeled everyone in South Africa by race, and the Group Areas Act, which forced racial groups to live in different places. In a nutshell it was the white run government trying to separate everything between the black South African’s and the white South African’s. Both laws were put into place to establish apartheid, which literally means “apartness”, the separation of the races. He took racism and oppression to new heights, but Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to bringing it back down again. Mandela's changes made an important statement to all of South Africa. The long walk to violence that lead Nelson Mandela to the effects of his decision was the questioned aspect of his struggle for freedom in South Africa. Most modern societies, Americans in particular, view acts of violence as inherently evil. They look to leaders such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King who brought change through nonviolent protest. However, the governments these leaders fought against had rights for citizens and the government did not outright murder the protestors. Nelson Mandela performed nonviolent protests for a decade in South Africa while the government violently attacked and killed his protestors. With a government who fights nonviolence with violence, and raises inequality instead of lowering it, Nelson Mandela only saw one solution armed struggle. His decision brought both condemnation and praise but ultimately brought international attention to the inequality in South Africa. This led to international sanctions against South Africa and eventually forced the white supremacist government to form an equal South Africa. Personality believing that there are only two main turning points in Nelson Mandela’s life; the first was being when was when he was eventually released from prison (Robben Island) in 1990. Mandela was released 27 years after being imprisoned under the suppression of the communist act on 14th June 1964. When Frederik Willem de Klerk agreed to release Nelson Mandela he knew that he was releasing the African National Congress Leader, whose main aim was to abolish Apartheid and keep South Africa free from racial segregation and make it a united society. The Constitution of 1996 can be seen as the fulfillment of the ANC Freedom Charter of 1955: "All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs . . . . The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honor human brotherhood, liberty and peace; Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit; Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan." (Benson, 10) People today may enter The Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island Museum Heritage Services and go by boat to the penitentiary which Mandela turned into a university. At Robben Island, we also find the model Robben Island Primary School, a school of integration and international awareness. Nelson Mandela will and still is one of many blacks to have made history.