Velasco 3 Natalia Velasco Mrs.

Jones Pre-AP English II 30 January 2013 Nelson Mandela During the mid to late 20th century, South Africa was drowning in discrimination and racial conflict, however one man stood up against this injustice and his name was Nelson Mandela. For years he fought, risking his own life for the good of his people. Nelson Mandela believed that everything worth fighting for seems impossible until its done and with that attitude he challenged his fellow citizens to join him in confronting the corrupted legal system of South Africa.

The Apartheid policy was a major issue in South Africa. This policy enforced racial segregation throughout the country and created fear and despair in all those of non-European heritage (Hatang, Sello). The Apartheid policy prohibited the black population from mixing with the white population in education, housing, employment, and even on buses and park benches (Hatang, Sello). Nelson Mandela was a leader in a movement to try and abolish the Apartheid policy and grant equal right to all South African citizens. Throughout his life Mandela faced many unjust punishments for his actions against the government, his last trial took place in Rivonia and lasted about a year but Nelson Mandela was willing to risk his own life to stand up for what was right.

Velasco 4 Picture growing up in a country where drinking out of the wrong water fountain might get you thrown into jail, where a man might have the very same job as his neighbor, but because of the color of his skin gets paid less in a year than the other man made in a week. Imagine a place where the government told you that your ancestors and their ways of living were wrong, savage and not even human. Well, for Nelson Mandela growing up in South Africa under the Apartheid policy meant these things, and worse, it was part of his daily life. Nelson Mandela was a fighter, instead of bowing down to this unjust system of government; he became a lifelong warrior in the battle to free South Africa. Mandela played a part in many dramatic demonstrations against the white supremacist government, but his career was cut short in 1964 when he was sentenced to life in prison. The notorious Rivonia Trial was nothing more than a cruel ploy used by the white South African government to silence Nelson Mandela once and for all.

The Judge in the Rivonia Trial believed he rightly convicted Mandela to prison under the eyes of the state law (Linder, Douglas O). Though countless revolutions, which led to independence, and freedom, and countless civil rights movements, leading to the abolishment of ignorance, civil disobedience is necessary. Mandela broke the laws in an act of civil disobedience for the right of his people. Though Mandela had broken the law, he had done so with a goal for freedom and change, for the better of his people.

Velasco 3 But even while in prison Mr. Mandela continued to be full of hope for his people, who carried on the struggle against racism in his absence. In 1990, after 27 years of cruel imprisonment, Nelson Mandela was freed. His release marked the beginning of the end. In less than five years after his release, Mr. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace prize and elected president of South Africa. Today, thanks to the self-sacrifice of Nelson Mandela, Apartheid has been outlawed. Everyone in South Africa now has an equal opportunity at home and at work to live comfortable and happy lives. Nelson Mandela is one of the world's true freedom fighters, and his life and personal triumphs will be remembered long after the world has forgotten the evils of the Apartheid Policy.

The suffering that took place in South Africa years ago should not be forgotten, and we have to learn from Mandelas example and be willing to fight through injustices that we see in our lives today. Although Nelson Mandela was unfairly imprisoned again and again through out his life, his time and energy paid off in the end.

Velasco 4 Works Cited

Gallagher, Michael. "The birth and death of apartheid". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2002. Hatang, Sello. "Rivonia Trial." Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Flow Communications, 2010. Web. 25 Jan. 2013. Linder, Douglas O. "The Nelson Mandela (Rivonia) Trial: An Account." The Nelson Mandela (Rivonia) Trial: An Account. N.P. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2013