Nelson Mandela - 'First Rebel against Racism': Biography

Nelson Mandela, a pivotal figure in South African history, served as an anti-apartheid revolutionary, the country’s first Black President (1994-1999), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a dedicated philanthropist. He spearheaded the struggle against racial discrimination, dedicating 67 years of his life to this cause. The pervasive racism he faced as a Black man ignited his revolutionary spirit, driving him to secure freedom for all Black South Africans. Mandela became the nation’s first Black head of state, playing a crucial role in dismantling apartheid in 1991. He also held the presidency of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997.

Early Life of Nelson Mandela

Born on July 18, 1918, in a village near Umtata in South Africa’s Cape Province, Nelson Mandela was named ‘Rolihlahla’ by his father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa Mandela, and his third wife. The name ‘Rolihlahla’ translates to ‘troublemaker.’ Raised within Thembu traditions, his mother enrolled him in a local Methodist school at the age of seven, where he was also responsible for herding cattle. It was at this school that his teacher gave him the forename ‘Nelson’.

Unable to support the family adequately, Mandela’s mother entrusted him to the care of Jongintaba Dalindyebo, a Thembu regent. Mandela grew up alongside Jongintaba’s children, Justice (his foster brother) and Nomafu (his foster sister), and continued his education at a Methodist school. At 16, he and Justice traveled to Tyhalarha for the ‘ulwaluko’ circumcision, a traditional South African ritual marking the transition into manhood.

Nelson Mandela’s Educational Journey

During his secondary education at Clarkebury Methodist School, Mandela overcame his initial shyness by actively socializing and befriending a girl. Later, at the Methodist college in Healdtown, he engaged in sports, training as both a runner and a boxer.

In 1939, while studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Fort Hare, Mandela participated in ballroom dancing, drama, and Bible classes. He co-founded a first-year students’ committee to challenge the perceived dominance of second-year students and engaged in boycotts protesting the quality of food, which led to his suspension from the college. He subsequently did not return.

Dismayed by an arranged marriage planned for both him and Justice by Jongintaba, Mandela and Justice fled to Johannesburg in 1941. Mandela initially found work as a night watchman. He soon befriended Walter Sisulu, an influential ANC activist, who later helped him secure an articled clerk position at a law firm. To continue his higher education, Mandela enrolled in a distant learning program with the University of South Africa, studying in Alexandra.

The era was marked by widespread poverty, crime, and pollution. Following Jongintaba’s funeral in the winter of 1942, Mandela returned to Johannesburg, intending to pursue a career as a lawyer, although a deeper purpose was beginning to emerge for him.

The Genesis of Nelson Mandela’s Revolutionary Path

In 1943, Mandela commenced his law studies at the University of Witwatersrand, where he was the sole Black African student and experienced direct racism for the first time. There, he forged alliances with liberal and communist European Jewish and Indian students. It was also here that he encountered Anton Lembede, a prominent member of the ANC, whose nationalist views profoundly inspired Mandela.

Recognizing the need for youth support within the ANC, Mandela joined Anton Lembede in establishing the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), with Lembede serving as President and Mandela as an Executive Committee member. In 1947, Lembede’s declining health led to complications for the ANCYL’s leadership. Subsequently, Mandela was appointed to the executive committee of the ANC’s Transvaal branch.

The 1948 South African General Election, which exclusively allowed white citizens to vote, ushered in a new era of racial segregation with the implementation of apartheid legislation. Mandela vigorously protested for the rights of Black South Africans, orchestrating numerous strikes against apartheid. His commitment led to his election as National President of the ANCYL in 1950. Concurrently, his deep involvement in politics resulted in his failing law examinations at Witwatersrand University three times, ultimately preventing him from completing his degree.

Influenced by his peers and extensive reading of works by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, Mandela’s earlier anti-communist sentiments gradually diminished as he began to embrace dialectical materialism.

In 1952, the ANC launched the Defiance Campaign against apartheid, supported by Indian and communist groups. This pivotal event saw Mandela addressing a rally of 10,000 people in Durban, solidifying his status as a prominent Black political leader and the President of the ANC Transvaal branch. His active participation in the campaign led to his arrest and imprisonment.

The ‘No Easy Walk to Freedom’ Era

Despite a six-month government ban preventing him from public appearances, Mandela delivered his iconic ‘No Easy Walk to Freedom’ speech at a Transvaal meeting. In this address, he outlined his vision for a centralized leadership structure, often referred to as the Mandela Plan (M-Plan). In 1953, Mandela and Oliver Tambo established the first Black-African owned law firm in the country, providing free and affordable legal counsel to unrepresented Black citizens.

For two decades, Mandela championed peaceful, nonviolent resistance against the South African government’s discriminatory policies, notably participating in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. In 1956, he and 150 other activists were arrested and charged with treason for their political activities, though they were eventually acquitted. The subsequent formation of the Pan-Africanist Congress by Africanists negatively impacted the ANC, leading to a significant decline in its militant support by 1959.

Transition to Armed Struggle

Initially advocating for non-violent resistance, a philosophy inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Mandela eventually concluded that significant change would not occur without the involvement of an armed force. In 1961, in collaboration with Walter Sisulu and Joe Slovo, he co-founded the Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”, or MK), serving as its Chairman. This armed wing carried out acts of sabotage to pressure the government, including 57 bombings on December 16, 1961, and additional actions on New Year’s Eve, employing guerrilla tactics to dismantle apartheid.

In August 1962, Mandela received a five-year prison sentence for organizing a three-day national workers’ strike. During a 1963 trial, he and ten other ANC leaders were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for their political activities related to the ANC’s armed wing.

Nelson Mandela endured 27 years of imprisonment, from November 1962 to February 1990. For the initial 18 years, he was confined on Robben Island, where he contracted tuberculosis and, as a Black political prisoner, received the lowest level of treatment from prison staff. During this period, he successfully earned a Bachelor of Law degree through a correspondence program with the University of London.

A 1981 memoir by South African intelligence agent Gordon Winter revealed a government plot to orchestrate Mandela’s escape, intending to shoot him during a staged recapture. This plan was reportedly thwarted by British intelligence.

Nelson Mandela’s Release from Prison

In 1982, Mandela and other ANC leaders were transferred to Pollsmoor Prison, a move purportedly to facilitate negotiations between them and the South African government. In 1985, President P.W. Botha offered Mandela his freedom in exchange for renouncing armed struggle; however, Mandela unequivocally rejected this condition. Despite mounting local and international pressure for his release, numerous negotiations between the government and Mandela proved unsuccessful. It was only after Botha suffered a stroke and was succeeded by Frederik Willem de Klerk that Mandela’s release was ultimately announced on February 11, 1990. De Klerk also took significant steps, lifting the ban on the ANC, removing restrictions on other political organizations, and suspending executions.

While committing to a peaceful future for South Africa, Mandela asserted that the ANC’s armed struggle would persist until the Black majority achieved full voting rights. In 1991, Nelson Mandela was elected President of the African National Congress, with his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, serving as national chairperson.

Nelson Mandela’s Presidency: A New Era

Largely due to the tireless efforts of Nelson Mandela and President de Klerk, negotiations between Black and white South Africans ultimately succeeded. On April 27, 1994, South Africa conducted its historic first democratic elections. Mandela, at 77 years old, was inaugurated as the nation’s first Black president on May 10, 1994, with de Klerk serving as his first deputy.

From 1994 to June 1999, President Mandela diligently guided South Africa’s transition from minority rule and apartheid to a democratic Black majority government. He strategically leveraged the nation’s passion for sports, particularly rugby, to foster reconciliation between white and Black South Africans, famously encouraging Black citizens to support the previously reviled national rugby team.

In 1995, South Africa garnered international attention by successfully hosting the Rugby World Cup, an event that significantly enhanced the young republic’s recognition and prestige on the global stage. That same year, Mandela was also honored with the prestigious Order of Merit.

Throughout his presidency, Mandela was also dedicated to safeguarding South Africa’s economy from collapse. His administration’s Reconstruction and Development Plan allocated significant funding towards job creation, housing initiatives, and access to basic healthcare for all citizens.

In 1996, Mandela proudly signed into law a new constitution for the nation. This landmark document established a robust central government founded on majority rule while simultaneously guaranteeing the rights of minorities and upholding freedom of expression for all South Africans.

Nelson Mandela’s Retirement and Later Life

Following the 1999 general election, Nelson Mandela announced his retirement from active politics. However, he remained committed to philanthropic efforts, particularly focusing on funding and developing schools and clinics in rural areas. He also played a crucial role as a mediator in Burundi’s Civil War. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001, he gradually withdrew from activism and public life, ultimately moving to his native village of Qunu in 2004, at the age of 85, to spend his remaining years.

Nelson Mandela’s Marriages and Family Life

Nelson Mandela was married three times and had six children. His first marriage was to Evelyn Mase, a trainee nurse, in October 1944, a connection facilitated by Walter Sisulu. They had two children: a son born in 1945 and a daughter born in 1947, who tragically died of meningitis at nine months old. The couple divorced in 1958, with Evelyn accusing Mandela of adultery.

Nelson Mandela and his future first wife Evelyn Mase in the bridal party at Walter and Albertina Sisulu’s wedding on 17 July 1944. Mandela was best man. Mandela and Mase were to marry three months later, 5 October 1944.

Mandela subsequently married Winnie Madikizela in June 1958. They had two children, born in 1959 and 1960, before their separation in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, Mandela married Graça Machel, the former Minister of Education for Mozambique, and they remained together until his passing in 2013.

Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel notably co-founded ‘The Elders’, an independent group of global leaders dedicated to addressing major conflicts, humanitarian crises, promoting peace, advocating for women’s equality, and strengthening democracy worldwide. The group was also deeply committed to the fight against AIDS, a disease that claimed the life of Mandela’s son, Makgatho, in 2005.

In 1993, Nelson Mandela and President de Klerk were jointly honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, recognizing their monumental efforts in dismantling the apartheid system in South Africa.

The Passing of Nelson Mandela

After experiencing a lung infection in 2011 and undergoing stomach surgery in 2012, Nelson Mandela passed away from recurrent lung disease on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95, at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa.

On the day of Mandela’s passing, then-South African President Jacob Zuma issued a statement honoring Mandela’s enduring legacy: “Wherever we are in the country, wherever we are in the world, let us reaffirm his vision of a society … in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another,” Zuma stated.

Key Facts and Published Works of Nelson Mandela

In 2009, Nelson Mandela’s birthday, July 18, was officially declared Mandela Day, an international observance dedicated to promoting global peace and celebrating the profound legacy of the South African leader. According to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, this annual event encourages citizens worldwide to engage in community service and uphold the values Mandela championed throughout his lifetime.

In 1994, Mandela’s seminal autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, was published, containing extensive passages he had secretly written during his imprisonment. This influential book later inspired the 2013 film, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Additionally, Nelson Mandela authored several other notable books detailing his life and struggles, including No Easy Walk to Freedom; Nelson Mandela: The Struggle Is My Life; and Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales.

References:

wikipedia.com
biography.com

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