Nelson Mandela

"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain top of our desires". 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. 1942 started Nelson Mandela's participation in the racial oppression in South Africa. He joined the African National Congress (ANC), led by Anton Lembede. In 1944, Mandela joined up with Walter Sisulu, William Nkomo, Oliver R. Tambo, and Ashby P. Mda to form the African National Congress Youth League. Quickly, Mandela became the secretary of the ANCYL in 1947 because of his consistent effort and disciplined work. In 1949 the Programme of Action was accepted as authorized ANC policy. The Programme of Action supported boycott, strike, civil disobedience, and non-co-operation. Nelson Mandela became the president of the ANCYL in 1952. "Under his leadership the ANC began sponsoring nonviolent protests, strikes, boycotts, marches, and other acts of civil disobedience and in the process becoming a target to police harassment and arrest." This came to be known as the Defiance Campaign. This marked the beginning of mass resistance to apartheid. In 1959 a small group of ANC members broke off and started their own group called the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). And on March 21, 1960, 20,000 PAC protesters left there homes without passes and joined together in Sharpeville. The police, thinking that the group would become unfriendly, opened fire on the protesters. Sixty-Nine Blacks were killed and another 186 were wounded. After this attack, the South African Government outlawed the ANC and PAC organizations. But this would not stop Mandela and his companions from fighting the apartheid. In 1961 Mandela helped establish the ANC's military wing, known as the Umkhonto we Sizwe -Spear of the Nation-, also known as the M-plan or MK plan named after Mandela himself. He was named its commander in chief and was sent to Algeria for military training. In that time 200 acts of sabotage took place.
When he returned in 1962, he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for illegal exit from the country and the fear of becoming too powerful from the white government inside his hideout just outside of Johannesburg. In Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom, he described his arrest:
At 1:30 in the morning on 30 March I was awakened by sharp, unfriendly knocks at my door, the unmistakable signature of the police. ‘The time has come,' I said to myself as I opened the door to find half-a-dozen armed security policemen. They turned the house upside down, taking virtually every piece of paper they could find. I was then arrested without a warrant, and given no opportunity to call my lawyer. They refused to inform my wife as to where I was being taken. I simply nodded at Winnie; it was no time for words of comfort.(pg.239)

While in prison many other ANC leaders were also found and arrested. They were all put on trial (Rivonia Trial) for sabotage, treason, and violent conspiracy. Mandela was sentenced to life in prison at the maximum security Robben Island Prison. Although in a maximum-security prison, Mandela was still able to keep in contact with the anti-apartheid movement secretly. For 18 years Mandela stayed at Robben Island, where he lived under harsh conditions with other political leaders. This time spent in the prison changed his attitude and made him become the great political leader that he is today. He realized that violence was not the answer to all his problems. Furthermore, many would think that this imprisonment would hurt the anti-apartheid movement, but in reality it helped much more. Many world leaders demanded that Mandela be released from the prison. In March of 1982 Nelson Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison, another maximum-security prison. While at Pollsmoor, Mandela was offered many times to be released if he would stop using violence. Mandela refused to do so stating "only free men can negotiate."
Finally on February 11, 1990 from both international and domestic pressure, the South African government, under President F.W. De Klerk, raised the ban against the ANC and released Nelson Mandela. He then resumed his position as leader of the ANC and led negotiations with the government to end the apartheid. Mandela and De Klerk worked together to end apartheid and helped create a democratic government. Furthermore, they both received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and then in 1994 South Africa held its first multiracial elections which Mandela won the presidency. As president, Mandela tried to make the white South Africans feel that Mandela was not a racist person, but a person that was trying to make the best for his country. In 1996, Mandela signed into law a new South African constitution. The constitution guaranteed the freedom of speech to all minorities, and created a federal system based on majority rule. Mandela would lead South Africa as its president until 1999 when he stepped down and Thabo Mbeki was selected president.
Mandela worked his way up through the ranks of the ANC and ANCYL, leading the anti-apartheid movement. What he accomplished while in the ANCYL and in prison changed the way that South Africa is today. Without Mandela blacks would still only be able to use certain bathrooms and would only be able to go in certain places designated for them. This 55-year journey from the African National Congress, to prison, and finally to becoming president and winning the Nobel Peace Prize has made Nelson Mandela a living legend. But in the words of Nelson Mandela himself,
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended. (pg.625)