Who was Nelson Mandela?

Nelson Mandela was a revolutionary figure in South Africa who ended decades-long apartheid in the country. He was named Rolihlahla at birth in the village of Mvezo, South Africa.

His father, Nkosi Mpahakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, was the principal counselor to Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting king of the Thembu people.

The young Mandela lost his father at the tender age of 12, and was later named Nelson by his teacher based on a custom that designated Christian names for all school children.

Mandela attended the University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law and later joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944. This gave him an avenue to work for human rights and racial justice in South Africa. 

South African apartheid was a highly racist system of legalization that glorified and enforced segregation against non-white citizens in the country. Following the National Party’s ascent to power in 1948, the government enforced oppressive and institutionalized policies of racial segregation. 

Non-white South Africans, which made up a majority of the population, were forced to reside in separate areas, plunged into poverty, and were limited in their access to health care and education.

It was around this time that Mandela began participating in active resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948.

Why was Mandela Imprisoned?

Mandela’s stand against South Africa’s apartheid regime led to his imprisonment for 27 years. He was charged for organizing an illegal strike and leaving the country without valid travel documents after having traveled to Addis Ababa to partake in the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa conference in February 1962.

Mandela also rallied support for uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), an underground wing of the ANC. He garnered pledges from Algerian, Ethiopian, and Moroccan delegates to provide military training for MK, a move that he saw as necessary to achieve freedom for his countrymen.

While he initially advocated for nonviolent resistance to apartheid, Mandela soon recognized that non-violent protests were being met with violence by the government. He believed that some form of armed resistance was necessary to end apartheid in South Africa.

Mandela’s Historical Release From Prison

The only people who met Mandela during his 27-year imprisonment were his jailers, his fellow inmates, and family members. In a futile attempt to tarnish his reputation, the government never released his photos.

This only increased curiosity amongst the people, who already saw Mandela as a hero and symbol of anti-apartheid.

While the apartheid regime did offer to release him on a number of occasions, Mandela firmly refused, as every offer demanded his compliance with the government.

In 1989, when FW de Klerk was elected as the South African president, he lifted the ban on the ANC the following year and ordered Mandela’s release from prison.

Around 100,000 Black South Africans gathered to see their future leader as he walked out with his then wife, Winnie. The crowd erupted into happiness as Mandela delivered his first speech after being released.

Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected president on May 10, 1994, becoming the country’s first Black president. After 5 years as the nation’s leader, he chose not to run for a second term, and spent his retirement years tirelessly working to improve schools and health care centers. 

He passed away on Dec. 5, 2013, at his home in Johannesburg.

Nelson Mandela’s Stand for Palestine 

Mandela was famously known to speak about the Palestinian people’s fight for freedom, drawing similarities between South African apartheid and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. 

“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians,” Mandela once famously said.

This statement has prevailed in South Africa and around the world, and most recently in South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).