South African black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela , who
spent 27 years in jail for his efforts to end white minority rule, was freed on
February 11, 1990. During his years in prison , Mandela had helped focus
worldwide attention on the struggle for racial equality in South Africa.
Blacks outnumber whites in South Africa by more than five to
one, but whites ruled the country since its early days, until 1994. In 1948,
apartheid - "separateness" -- became the government's official
policy. Everyone was classified according to race. This classification determined
who could vote, where people could live, which schools they could attend. The
main goals of Mandela and many other people, including his fellow members of the
African National Congress (ANC), were to end apartheid and establish black majority
rule.
Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, into a royal family of the
Xhosa. He received a law degree from the University of South Africa in 1942 and
later helped set up South Africa 's first black law firm. In 1944 he was one of
the founders of the ANC Youth League, a group that became a leading force in protests
against the government. He was arrested twice for his protest activities in the
1950's. In 1960, the government banned the ANC and other black protest groups. But
Mandela continued his crusade, helping to form a military wing of the ANC and begin
a guerrilla campaign. He was arrested in 1962 and, two years later, sentenced to
life in prison for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.
Even in prison, however, Mandela continued his opposition to
the government. His dedication helped bring international pressure on South
Africa to free political prisoners and end apartheid. The government finally began
to move in this direction in 1989. The ANC and other black protest groups were legalized
a week before Mandela's release.
Out of jail at last, the 71-year-old Mandela faced a
difficult task: to work with both black and white leaders to find a solution to
the racial strife that had long divided his country. (Grolier
New Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia)