Mandela's Sacrifice

These injustices inspired Africans to “[sacrifice] everything – for liberty, peace, human dignity and human fulfillment” (Mandela, Notes to the Future 2012, 167). In America, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. played a pivotal role in the fight for African-American rights. For example, his 1963 Birmingham Campaign occurred in a city “where there had been more than 50 racially motivated bombings since WWII” (Green 2013). Infuriated by the protest, Eugene “Bull” Connor – the Police Chief – used police dogs and water cannons to oppress nonviolent protesters and arrested Dr. King. During that same year, the African National Congress requested for a Congress of the People to come to an agreement on a bill of South African rights. On June 25 and 26, “more than three thousand delegates from all over South Africa gathered” and created the Freedom Charter with the cooperation of all members (Marchesi 2014, 41). Determined to suppress their opposition, the police arrived and arrested ANC members: Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and Nelson Mandela. All three men were labeled as traitors, and if found guilty, they would face the death penalty.