Introduction to Nelson Mandela
This picture above is when Nelson Mandela was in jail for "violent" protesting against apartheid.
What makes an
ordinary man become a leader among men? Is it his life, ideas, background, or
luck? For Nelson Mandela these are just a few of the factors that played a role
in making him one of the most influential leaders of the modern world.
Who is Nelson Mandela? Nelson Mandela was introduced to his parents in Mveso, Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918, at an early age he
wanted to fight for global or world peace. As he went into his teenage years he
became more outspoken and he began to protest different things. Mandela as a young rebel had all the makings
and influences of a well groomed troublemaker. He grew up in a poor area. His
dad died when he was very young and his dad’s friend adopted him. He gave
Nelson the same opportunities his children had, which were only allowed to the
wealthy black. Nelson Mandela stood up
for what he believed in despite what others might say. He like Martin Luther
King Jr. was a born leader. His adopted father sent him to the University of
Fort Hare, which was the equivalent to Harvard or Yale. His leadership skills
were shown when his peers elected him to be in the Student Representative
Council (SRC). The peers of Mandela were displeased with the power the SRC had.
Therefore, the peers held a boycott until their requests were met. In order to
support his peers Mandela resigned from his position with the SRC. The director
of the University of Fort Hare saw Mandela’s decision as being defiance of
authority and kicked him out of school for the rest of the year. If he were to
return to the college he must be as a member of SRC. His adopted father saw defiance
and arranged for his marriage so as a rebel and ran away from home. Later he
enrolled in the University of Johannesburg and studied law. In 1942, he joined
the African National Conference (ANC). This group’s focus was to In 1949, they boycotted with goals of
achieving full citizenship rights. Mandela headed peaceful actions against the
South African Government and its racist policies. In 1956, he was charged with
treason and was later freed from the criminal charges. In 1961, he organized
and cofounded Umkhonto Seywe known as Mk- an armed position of ANC dedicated to
sabotage Mandela headed up a three day national workers strike which landed him
in prison for five years.
Nelson Mandela believed that all people should have equal rights. He founded a law firm with Tambo, whom he met at Fort Hare, where he provided low cost representation to unrepresented blacks. He always said, “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an out law” He believed in protesting nonviolently. He kept the belief for twenty years. When nonviolent actions did not work he tried different tactics which landed him in jail for twenty seven years. This occurred in 1963 as a result of the trial for the destruction of government buildings and power sources.
After jail, he matured and went back to believing nonviolent ways would work. Mandela was offered an earlier release from prison if discontinued his black resistance, and follow South African government to which he refused. He felt that all people should have the rights of citizenship and to vote. “I have walked a long walk to freedom. It has been a long road and it is not over yet. Know that my country was not made to be a land of hatred. No one is born hating another person because the color of his skin. People learn to hate. They can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” He became the first black president for South Africa. Like Martin L King, Mandela had a dream for which he sacrificed and devoted his entire life, even while he was jailed; he kept his purpose, hopes and dreams of a brighter and better future for his homeland.
Nelson Mandela inspired and helped many people with his beautiful speeches and heroic actions. For example, it shows this when a couple of years ago when he went on Oprah and Oprah met him and then she felt inspired by him. She thought that he was very nice person who was also humble. He changed some people’s views on the South African people. All because of the way he stood up for what he believed many people now respect him.
One of the things that made him so inspirational was the way he stood up for what he believed in. Even though there are these people who agreed they would let him out of jail early if he stopped all the protesting he refused. Nelson was big hearted and strong minded he was not just about to let these people stop him from boycotting the one big thing he stood for. He stood for equality in the entire human race. That is what he stood by, fought for, and got prosecuted for.
Even though all these tough times in jail he still came out with his loving smile. Nelson Mandela has taught the world a lot of things. He has taught us that we are all sisters and brothers and that we must rise up and support each other through thick and thin. The point is that it doesn’t matter what gender you are or what color hair you have or the color of your skin. If I could pick out one thing about Nelson Mandela that is inspirational to me it would be that he preserved throughout his life and yet even during his last years of living he was still humble and forgiving to all the people that had done him wrong.
Nelson Mandela believed that all people should have equal rights. He founded a law firm with Tambo, whom he met at Fort Hare, where he provided low cost representation to unrepresented blacks. He always said, “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an out law” He believed in protesting nonviolently. He kept the belief for twenty years. When nonviolent actions did not work he tried different tactics which landed him in jail for twenty seven years. This occurred in 1963 as a result of the trial for the destruction of government buildings and power sources.
After jail, he matured and went back to believing nonviolent ways would work. Mandela was offered an earlier release from prison if discontinued his black resistance, and follow South African government to which he refused. He felt that all people should have the rights of citizenship and to vote. “I have walked a long walk to freedom. It has been a long road and it is not over yet. Know that my country was not made to be a land of hatred. No one is born hating another person because the color of his skin. People learn to hate. They can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” He became the first black president for South Africa. Like Martin L King, Mandela had a dream for which he sacrificed and devoted his entire life, even while he was jailed; he kept his purpose, hopes and dreams of a brighter and better future for his homeland.
Nelson Mandela inspired and helped many people with his beautiful speeches and heroic actions. For example, it shows this when a couple of years ago when he went on Oprah and Oprah met him and then she felt inspired by him. She thought that he was very nice person who was also humble. He changed some people’s views on the South African people. All because of the way he stood up for what he believed many people now respect him.
One of the things that made him so inspirational was the way he stood up for what he believed in. Even though there are these people who agreed they would let him out of jail early if he stopped all the protesting he refused. Nelson was big hearted and strong minded he was not just about to let these people stop him from boycotting the one big thing he stood for. He stood for equality in the entire human race. That is what he stood by, fought for, and got prosecuted for.
Even though all these tough times in jail he still came out with his loving smile. Nelson Mandela has taught the world a lot of things. He has taught us that we are all sisters and brothers and that we must rise up and support each other through thick and thin. The point is that it doesn’t matter what gender you are or what color hair you have or the color of your skin. If I could pick out one thing about Nelson Mandela that is inspirational to me it would be that he preserved throughout his life and yet even during his last years of living he was still humble and forgiving to all the people that had done him wrong.