Nelson Mandela Obstacles

In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. The ANC was encouraged and campaigned for democracy in South Africa. They were mild campaigns at first, but as the government became more hostile, so did ANC protests. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. It authorized the limited use of arms and sabotage against the government, which got the government’s attention—and its anger! Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was a sad day for black South Africa.

6) however, like Gandhi, he encouraged the volunteers not to retaliate. Mandela spent 26 years and 8 months in jail as punishment for his protesting however, he felt that “no sacrifice was too great in the struggle for freedom” (Doc. 9). He spent time in jail with other protesters that all felt that “whatever sentences [they] received, even the death sentence… [their] deaths would not be in vain” (Doc. 9). Freedom for the South African people from apartheid finally came in 1993. To Mandela this was not just the freedom of his people but “the freedom of all people, black and white” (Doc. 12). “South Africa’s New Democracy” rose after years of continuous nonviolence from the populace.

When we remember Nelson Mandela, most people think of social change, of leadership and of humanity. Mandela dedicated his life to his belief of equality and freedom for people in South Africa. As a strong supporter of freedom of speech, Mandela is one of the most revered speakers of the 20th century. He was born in a small village in the eastern cape of South Africa on July 18, 1918. Nelson studied law in the university of Fort Hare but never completed his degree. In 1941, he moved to Johannesburg where he encountered the racism led by the apartheid government. To further pursue his law studies, he began attending meetings of the ANC (African National Congress) – an anti-apartheid group. The ANC aimed to transform into a grassroots movement

Mandela was a very important leader in the struggle against apartheid. Like many other struggle leaders, he was thrown in jail more than once and spent 27 years of his life in jail. He became an important symbol for human rights and anti-apartheid campaigns all over the world. In 1990 he was finally released from jail, and he became an important leader in the talks with President F.W. de Klerk about a South Africa free from apartheid.

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

Nelson Mandela’s influence is most evident on Americans politicians than anything else. “Late in the afternoon of Sunday, Feb 11, 1990, the gates of Victor Verster Prison opened and a historic moment millions of people around the planet had awaited for years was at hand: Nelson Mandela, the world’s most noted prisoner of Conscience, walked into the sunlight of freedom” (Fenton). Students who participated in the Divestment Protests in the late 1970’s felt as if they were a part of Mandela’s release from jail. During his first few months of freedom, Mandela became a global ambassador for the African National Congress. In March 1990, only weeks after release, he met with world leaders. In June he set out on a forty–five day, 15 nation tours. He met with several leaders on three continents. When the news leaked that Mandela would visit the US, hundreds of requests for appearances were submitted. “Mandela’s arrival in America on June 20th, 1990 created a sensation. More than 750,000 people lined up on the streets of Manhattan” to catch a sight of the former prisoner (Fenton). Nelson visited the

These huge happenings both removed the global communist threat and freed people from injustices, which created an illusion that the entire world was listening in on South Africa, expecting a revolutionary change. From the very beginning protesters, especially Nelson Mandela himself, were influenced by Gandhi and his Satyagraha campaign in India as it was in several ways a similar fight. They both took place in countries that had been colonised by Great Britain, they both fought against the discrimination and oppression of the population and were both led by world-renowned leaders that shared fundamental ideas of unity and compassion. However, Gandhi’s philosophy wasn’t something Mandela followed meticulously. One of the major differences between their methods of ruling is that Mandela used violence at times, as it came to a point where he saw it as a necessity. It is important to note that without Gandhi’s fight in India, the protesters in South Africa may never have had motivation enough to see the potential they held, and what a difference they could make by

The new system was called 'apartheid'.Apartheid forced white and non-white people to live in separate areas. Mandela and Oliver Tambo set up South Africa's first black law firm. Many poor people came to them for help.Mandela led young people in the ANC. Many white people, as well as black people, spoke out against apartheid. But to speak out was dangerous. In 1956, Mandela and 155 other people were arrested for treason. In 1960, people held a demonstration against apartheid at Sharpeville, near Johannesburg. The police shot dead 68 black people. The government blamed the ANC, and banned it. Mandela became leader of a secret army, known as 'Spear of the Nation'. He was hunted by the police. In 1956, Nelson Mandela, leader in African National Congress, an organization dedicated to protesting the South African Government policy of Apartheid, had been arrested for treason charges, but was acquitted. In 1962, 44 year old Nelson Mandela was arrested for trying to overthrow the pro-apartheid government and for illegally leaving South Africa. In 1964, when he was 46, he was sentenced to life in prison and was moved to Robben Island. In 1985, President P.W. Both offered to release Mandela, who had been moved to Pollsmoor

He opened the first black law firm in South Africa. Mandela was also a part of the African National Congress (ANC). Mandela and the ANC took part in many protests which included: burning statues, structures, passbooks, and anything that had significance to the apartheid. They traveled throughout South Africa to spread their campaign and tried to teach the country that everyone was equal. Laws were quickly established to banish the ANC from existence.

He strived to create a free, democratic country for all people. The 1950’s was a dangerous era for black people in South Africa. Mandela, being black, was an activist against the Apartheid state. In 1944, Mandela formed the African National Congress Youth League, an organization that encouraged leadership against the segregation in South Africa. Mandela was charged for treason in 1956, and sent to jail for causing uprisings towards unfair employers. After his trial, there was a protest against inequality towards black people in Sharpeville. Sixty nine black protesters were shot and killed by police. In response to the massacre, Mandela quickly formed a Guerrilla fighting group, called the uMkhonto we Sizwe, or “the spear of the nation.” In 1961, the ANC resorted to violence. The ANC used bombs to destroy government buildings and they killed innocent people. Unfortunately, on June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela was convicted to a life’s time in jail. Many years later, F.W. de Klerk was elected president of South Africa. He wanted to dismantle the Apartheid, and in 1989 he repealed the ban on the ANC and released Mandela in 1990. Nelson Mandela became the face of social and political activism and advocacy, and was greeted by thousands of supporters who filled the

In 1964, he was found guilty of sabotage and treason and spent three decades in the Robben Island Prison. Mandela turned the prison experience into an ANC school, teaching other blacks about politics and other freedom fighters like Gandhi (Lockard 959). Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid for years with protests/strikes and by leading the ANC.

Every life comes with hardships and with every hardship comes some sort of setback be it big or small. Nelson Mandela said to his people “do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again”, and many times did he fall and get back up (Brainyquote). Nelson Mandela has always had a vision of South Africa where he and his people could live in a community without apartheid. As this vision became clear to him, and he began to act upon his thoughts, the white supremacists began their process on preventing him from achieving his goals. Nelson Mandela was first charge was furthering the aims of communism which ended his work towards an education due to his incardination and somewhat due to his financial status (Williams). This would not hold back his strive for a degree, upon his release he immediately focused on schooling (nelsonmandela). While jail time set him back Nelson Mandela soon continued his long trail to a degree at a University of London; determined to earn some sort of certificate of completion (Williams).

In 1948, the government introduced apartheid, which left the country’s non-white majority with few economic opportunities. In response, Mandela travelled throughout South Africa and encouraged people to take part in nonviolent demonstrations against the government’s racial segregation policies. He was arrested for organizing anti-government activities and eventually sentenced to life in prison. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities,” he said during his trial. “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.” Mandela’s

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