Nelson Mandela: a Biography
By J. Rocha
Nelson Mandela – A Biography
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This quote by Nelson Mandela encompasses one of his more important values in life: education. Nelson Mandela was a great man. One who inspired many people to change their individual opinions about the differences and similarities between whites and blacks but also changed the course of history by contributing to the ending apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela fought for what he believed in. He was a top leader of the civil rights movement in South Africa and fought apartheid (a system where non-white citizens were segregated from whites and were not permitted to share equal rights). His beliefs were so strong that he served 26 years in prison for protesting. He was a symbolic leader of the people of South Africa during his time in prison and after his release he was elected President of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, South Africa. His birth name was Rolihlahla. He got the nickname Nelson from a teacher in school. Nelson’s father Henry was a chief of the Tembu people in Transkei, South Africa. His mother’s name was Nosekeni Fanny and he had two siblings. When he was nine years old, Nelson’s father died and he then went to live with his guardians, Jongintaba Dalindyeba and his wife for several years. His early childhood was spent going to school, attending Methodist Christian church, tending herds as a cattle boy and spending a lot of time outside playing with other boys.
As Nelson grew into a young man, he began to question how things always were in South Africa. At the time South Africa was a British Colony, won through war by Britain in 1815. Since that time, South Africa was fraught with war about land and the gold that was found there. The government was made up of whites-only and black people were mostly servants, factory workers, gold miners or farm hands. Nelson disagreed with the politics in South Africa and sought to educate others about how he thought things should be.
Nelson’s own education took him to prestigious black universities in South Africa where he began to pursue his law degree in 1937. His yearning to fight for equal rights began in university where he started a protest about the quality of the cafeteria food and was subsequently expelled for his actions. At the same time, Nelson discovered that his guardian had arranged a marriage for him; Nelson chose to run away rather than be forced to marry someone that he didn’t love. For the next several years, Nelson lived in impoverished conditions in Johannesburg, South Africa, often working as a night watchman or in the gold mines. It was then that he met his long-time friend, Anton Lembebe and became involved in the African National Congress (ANC) together.
It was at a meeting of the ANC that Nelson met his future wife, Evelyn Mase, also an ANC activist fighting for the rights of blacks in South Africa. Evelyn was training to become a nurse at the time. They were married on October 5, 1944 and had two children, one of which died nine months after birth from meningitis. During this time, Nelson spent great quantities of time working for equal rights and protesting with the ANC. As a result of devoting his time to politics rather than studying, he failed his final year of university and was denied his University degree.
Also in 1944, the South African government created even more laws to keep blacks and whites apart: this system was called “apartheid”. Some of these new laws stated that white and black people could not marry each other, that they could not share a table at a restaurant or go to the same schools, and that sports teams were not permitted to be mixed. Nelson Mandela and others in the ANC were outraged and they began to speak out publically against the new laws.
The South African government was firm in their decisions to enact apartheid and there were many protests against this. To protest or speak out publically was a dangerous act and in 1956, Nelson and 155 other protestors were arrested for treason. After a five year long trial, Nelson was released from prison in 1961. This arrest, trial and imprisonment did not stop Nelson from fighting for what he believed in. He said, “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 mountaintop of our desires.” In 1962 he was arrested again and accused of sabotage and plotting to overthrow the government. After a two year trial in 1964, at the age of 46 he was given a life sentence.
Despite the fact that he was in prison for 18 years on Robben Island serving his life sentence, he never stopped fighting for what was right. Even in prison he participated with a group of prisoners on work and hunger strikes in an attempt to improve prison living conditions. Also while in prison he wrote his autobiography and continued to work on his law degree. He worked hard in prison to convince others to join his cause. Due to this instigation of others’ political views, he and a small group of other ANC prisoners were moved to another prison. He spent the next six years, from 1982-1988 in Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town.
Violence across the country continued during this time and many government officials fears the beginning of a civil war. As leader of the ANC, despite the fact that he was behind bars, Nelson continued to fight for the rights of all people. People around the world noticed his determination and different political figures internationally began to demand his release from prison. In 1989 a new President was elected in South Africa who believed that is was not possible for apartheid to last; he released all members of the ANC from prison except Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was considered a threat; he was the most powerful member of the ANC. The President in power wanted to speak with him in person before his release to get him on his side – the side of peace. He was finally released on February 11, 1990 after spending 26 years in prison.
Upon his release, Nelson Mandela continued encouraging all people to work together towards peace. In 1994, elections were held and all black people in South Africa were able to vote for the very first time. The ANC won the election with Nelson Mandela as their leader. In May of 1994 Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. He was welcomed around the world as a strong, persistent and fair leader. He was given many honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize and has written several books.
In 1999, Nelson Mandela retired from politics to spend quality time with his family. Over the next five years he continued his activism by working for the rights of people with HIV/AIDs, promoting university scholarships for impoverished students and working on school constructions to ensure an equal access to education for everyone. Finally in 2004, he “retired from retirement”. On December 5, 2013 after a prolonged illness, Nelson Mandela died.
Nelson Mandela will always be celebrated as a great, honest and caring man. His involvement in activism and fighting for the rights of those who did not have equal rights will be remembered forever. He dared to dream. He never gave up fighting for what was right. He believed anything was possible if people work together. He said, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
Bibliography
Crowe, Ellie (1996). Nelson Mandela: The Boy Called Troublemaker. New York: Starwalk Kids Media.
Famous People. (2013, January 21). Nelson Mandela: a biography for kids. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/nelson_mandela/
Mandela, Nelson (1994). Long Walk to Freedom: the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. New York: Little, Brown and Company.