13:2 Nelson Mandela

  Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918. He would grow up to be perhaps one of the greatest leaders of civil rights movements in the world. Mandela and what he fought for can be related to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Both men had been discriminated against and imprisoned for taking action, but neither man resorted to violence as a means to solve conflicts. Mandela is revered by people all over the world for his determination, strength, and standing up for what is right.

            Apartheid South Africa separated the blacks from the whites, discriminating against blacks similar to Jim Crow laws in the southern parts of the United States. Mandela’s father died when Nelson was young, but he grew hearing stories of great ancestors fighting the apartheid. This is how Mandela became involved with the fight for civil rights. He began studying law and working with the African National Congress. Mandela then developed the ANC Youth League and worked on more radical-based programs for the organization. He was often in and out of imprisonment from leaving the country illegally and working against the government with the ANC, which was banned. Mandela spent twenty-seven years in prison, missing his mother’s and son’s funerals. One imprisonment was for gathering protesters and workers to go on strike. He received a life sentence after his famous “Speech from the Dock” in 1964, in which he declared, “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 live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

            After the ban on the ANC was released, Mandela was free from imprisonment. He then won a Nobel Peace Prize, voted for the first time, and was elected the first president of democratic South Africa. Mandela’s later life included starting the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Nelson Mandela Foundation, and Mandela Rhodes Foundation; writing books about himself; working with the Fifa World Cup; meeting with the First Lady and her daughters; and spending much time with his family (as well as in the hospital). His age caught up with him, ending with his death on December 5, 2013. Mandela, then 95, proved to be a true activist and voice for the victims of the discrimination in apartheid South Africa. Not only did he never give up, but Mandela also did not resort to violence, which happens with so many passionate people. Mandela will forever be remembered as the face of democratic South Africa as well as racial equality and social justice.