Born in the rural jungles of Transkei in July of 1918, Rolihlahla Mandela came from a line of royal lineage. His great-grandfather was the former king of the Thembu people, a royal tribe in the heart of South Africa. Rolihlahla, his birth name, is common in South Africa for “troublemaker.” At the age of seven, a school teacher gave him the name Nelson because Rohihlahla was too hard to pronounce.
At the University of Fort Hare, Nelson joined the Student Representative Council where he was involved in several boycotts; the University then asked him to leave. Mandela then went to Johannesburg where he completed his law degree by correspondence. In 1942, the young Mandela became involved in politics by joining the African National Congress.
After many years with the ANC, Mandela was elected the Volunteer-in-Chief of the Defiance Campaign in 1952. He travelled the country gathering supporters from every village and small town. The campaign was designed to culminate in mass disobedience of the apartheid movement in South Africa. For participating in the program, Mandela was sentenced to a suspended sentence and barred from ANC Meetings for six months.
While in Johannesburg, Mandela and his longtime companion, Oliver Tambo, opened a law office in the city. By the end of 1952, Nelson had become a deputy president of the ANC. Throughout the 1950’s, Mandela became an advocate for the removal of Bantu Education and against the segregation of students at universities. He continued to be imprisoned and arrested, at great cost to his law office and political record.
After the Sharpeville Massacre, the African National Congress was outlawed. Nelson became an underground leader and spokesperson for the apartheid movement. He became an outlaw, living from place and disguising himself in many forms. In 1962, Mandela illegally left South Africa and travelled abroad, arranging military and guerilla training for the underground movements back in his homeland. After he returned home to South Africa, Nelson was charged with illegally leaving the country and incitement to strike. Instead of hiring a lawyer, Nelson defended himself. He was convicted and sentenced to a five-year imprisonment. During his sentence, he was convicted in the Rivonia Trial for sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Nelson spent the majority of his prison sentence on Robben Island Prison. One of the worst prisons in South Africa, it is seven kilometers off the shore of the mainland of South Africa. On February 2, 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years.
Through all of the trials, losses, imprisonments, and bloodshed, Nelson Mandela still fought against the apartheid movement of South Africa. Throughout his 27 year prison sentence, Mandela was repeatedly offered chances for release; he repeatedly rejected their offers. Being away from his family for months and living God knows where, Mandela gave his life for the freedom of South Africa. After his release from prison, Mandela renounced the violence that his party had caused for the past thirty years. He dove endlessly into the peaceful movement towards a free South Africa. In 1993, he became the first democratic president of South Africa. With his love and passion, Mandela has inspired millions in the struggle for equality. With his retirement from private life in 2004, Nelson Mandela still continues to be a visionary for peace and justice. As Nelson Mandela reflects, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
"Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela." 2 November 2007< http://www.anc.org.za/people/mandela.html>
"Nelson Mandela Quotes." 3 November 2007< http://thinkexist.com/quotes/nelson_mandela/>
Brink, Andre." Leaders & Revolutionaries: Nelson Mandela." Time Magazine. 13 April 1998. 3 November 2007. < http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/mandela.html>
