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Essay about Nelson Mandela’s Childhood Defined His Identity

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When a child is born, he knows little about the world that he will spend the rest of his life in. Through experiences as a young child – such as experiences with parents, culture, family values, etc. – it is possible for one’s childhood environment to shape many aspects of his life. Indeed, one could argue that a childhood environment can greatly influence how one will spend the rest of one’s life. The life of Nelson Mandela is an interesting example of this ideology. In his case, the connection between childhood and life is special and goes even further than the first instinctive connections that often come to mind. When one examines the interesting details the childhood of Nelson Mandela, one is compelled to conclude …show more content…

But while the British tended to adopt a policy of benign neglect, the inclusion of a highly discriminatory “colour bar clause” in the Union Act sowed the seeds of black protest, opposition, and revolution. What followed was blatant discrimination, which included the introduction of blacks-only territorial reserves under the Natives Land Act of 1913, more stringent enforcement of the system to restrict blacks from entering urban areas, and the disenfranchisement of blacks (Gibson, 34).

Mandela earned a law degree from University of South African in 1942 and he was a prominent member of Johannesburg’s African National Congress (ANC). In 1952, he became ANC deputy national president advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid (racial segregation). However, after a group of peaceful demonstrators were massacred in 1960, Mandela organized a paramilitary branch of the ANC to carry out guerrilla warfare against the oppressive government. After being acquitted in 1962 on charges of treason, he was arrested in 1964, convicted of sabotage, and sentenced to life in prison, where he became the leading symbol of South Africa’s black majority. Mandela was released in 1990 after over twenty years of imprisonment as an expression of President DeKlerk’s commitment to change. He was later elected as the President of South Africa. Mandela and DeKlerk were jointly awarded the peace prize in 1993 (Wesley).

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