In 1918, the future great African leader, Nelson Mandela, was born in a village which was near Umtata. He was a rebel as early as his college years where he was suspended from the University College of Fort Hare because he participated in a protest boycott. After college, he traveled to Johannesburg to get his Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1942, still in Johannesburg, mandela started his legendary political carrer by joining the African National Congress, or ANC.
After joining the ANC he started the ANC Youth League in 19444, which appealed to younger South Africans. After rapidly gaining prestige in the ANC, Mandela was elected volunteer-in-chief of the Defiance Campaign of 1952, which led him to be confined to Johannesburg for six months as a consequence for his part in the campaign. His confinement, however, did not stop him. He made the ANC politically more dangerous by splitting it into various underground cells.
In 1960, after the ANC was banned, Mandela was detained until 1961. In 1962, he left South Africa for military training and to go talk to other countries about the evils of Apartheid, which was the main issue Mandela was fighting with the government on. Apartheid was a South African policy where all non-whites were economically and politically at a huge disadvantage compared to whites. After returning to the country, Mandela was arrested on charges of illegally leaving the country and incitement of strike, and later charged with these and later, sabotage which gave him life in prison. when he was in prison, Mandela never waivered in his political beliefs despite being offered freedom if he spoke out against violence against the government. Even in prison, Mandela was a civil rights activist.
After being freed on February 11th, 1990, Mandela rallied the support of the South Afrcan people and became the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. His goal of equality for all races in South Africa had been achieved. Because of his acheivements in liberating all of the non-white citizens in South Africa from the harsh oppresion of the government before and during his presidency, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
As a man of faith:
Nelson Mandela was a true man of faith because he gave up his freedom for his fellow citizens of South Africa. Despite being sent to jail, Nelson Madela never waivered in his faith. He refused compromising his beliefs for freedom, showing what he was willing to sacrifice for his fellow citizen.
Sources:
Biography
ANC HOME PAGE
