The Fight Against Apartheid
Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress, a Black liberation group that opposed South Africa’s white minority government and apartheid. Mandela was initially opposed to violence, but after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, he began advocating acts of sabotage against the government.
Years in Prison
In 1962, Mandela began a twenty-seven-year stay in prison. Most of his confinement was spent at the notorious Robben Island maximum-security prison, where he was forced to work in a limestone quarry. During his imprisonment, Mandela became a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement among South Africa’s Black population and the international community that opposed apartheid. He rejected several offers to leave prison on the condition that he renounce violence. By the end of the 1980s, Mandela’s name was famous worldwide even though he had not been seen in public for twenty-seven years. Escalating violence and international pressure led the South African government to release Mandela from prison in 1990.
President and Peacemaker
Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president. Their combined efforts ended apartheid and brought a peaceful transition to nonracial democracy. Three years after his release, South Africans of all races were allowed to vote for the first time in a national election. They selected Mandela as their president, giving him 62% of the vote. Once a symbol of Black resistance, Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president. Many praised his government for its fair treatment of South Africa’s white minorities. Crime increased during his term, but the violent war between races ended.
Later Years and Legacy
Mandela married for the third time on his 80th birthday in 1998. A year later, he retired from the presidency. When Mandela died in 2013 at age 95, representatives from more than ninety nations attended his funeral. The 400-year-old prison on Robben Island is now a museum, reminding visitors of one man’s long struggle for freedom.
Resources
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Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on African History.