So many criminals who have never served a day in prison become world leaders. This is the story of a political prisoner who spent almost three decades behind bars, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and led a country out of apartheid.
--On This Day in History Shit Went Down: May 10, 1994--
Born in South Africa in 1918, Nelson Mandela was politically active from a young age. For almost 20 years he battled the institutionalized racist and segregationist policies of the ruling whites under apartheid, and was determined to overthrow them. Although he had been committed to nonviolence, that changed in 1960 with the Sharpeville Massacre when South African police opened fire on a crowd protesting segregation, killing 69. Twenty-nine of them were children; many were shot in the back while attempting to flee.
This prompted Mandela to cofound the armed wing of the African National Congress the following year. Called uMkhonto we Sizwe, meaning “Spear of the Nation,” the organization was dedicated to acts of sabotage against the white-ruled government. Upon its formation, Mandela gave his famous “I Am Prepared to Die” speech, saying, “It would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force.”
The organization blew up government machinery and power stations and was classified as a terrorist organization. The following year (1962), Mandela, who had been repeatedly arrested and even unsuccessfully prosecuted for sedition in the past, was again arrested and sentenced to life in prison for attempting to overthrow the government. He would serve 27 years, finally released in 1990 by President de Klerk amid growing domestic and international pressure.
Give in to the pressure to
Mandela used his newfound freedom to negotiate an end to apartheid, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Due largely to his efforts, South Africa held a multiracial general election in April of 1994, which saw Mandela lead the ANC to victory.
On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first Black president, serving a five-year term. He declined a second term and dedicated the rest of his life to combatting poverty and HIV/AIDS. He died in 2013 at the age of 95.
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