Nelson Mandela was
a civil rights leader in South Africa. He fought against apartheid, a system
where non-white citizens were segregated from whites and did not have equal
rights. He served a good portion of his life in prison for his protests, but
became a symbol for his people. Later he would become president of South
Africa.
EARLY
LIFE
Nelson Mandela was
born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, South Africa. His
birth name is Rolihlahla. He got the
nickname Nelson from a teacher in school. Nelson was a member of Thimbu royalty
and his father was chief of the city of Mvezo. He attended school and later college at the College of
Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand. At Witwatersrand, Mandela got
his law degree and would meet some of his fellow activists against
apartheid.
WHAT
DID MANDELA DO?
Nelson Mandela
became a leader in the African National Congress (ANC). At first he pushed hard
for the congress and the protesters to follow Mohandas Gandhi's non-violence
approach. At one point he started to doubt that this approach would work and
started up an armed branch of the ANC. He planned to bomb certain buildings,
but only the buildings. He wanted to make sure that no one would be hurt. He
was classified as a terrorist by the South African government and sent to
prison.
Mandela would spend
the next 27 years in prison. His prison sentence brought international
visibility to the anti-apartheid movement. He was finally released through
international pressure in 1990.
AFTER RELEASED FROM PRISON
Once released from
prison, Nelson continued his campaign to end apartheid. His hard work and life
long effort paid off when all races were allowed to vote in the 1994 election.
Nelson Mandela won the election and became president of South Africa. There were
several times during the process where violence threatened to break out. Nelson
was a strong force in keeping the calm and preventing a major civil war.
IN
PRISON
He spent 27 years
in prison. He refused to bend on his principals in order to be released and
stated that he would die for his ideals. He wanted all people of all races to
have equal rights in South Africa.
DIED
Nelson Mandela died at December 5, 2013, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, South Africa
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