Blake Smith
Remembering Nelson Mandela, dead at 95
In America, Martin Luther King Jr. led one of the biggest civil rights movements in history, and gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963. In Africa, an even bigger movement was needed to bring equality to South Africa, and one of the leaders of that movement was Nelson Mandela.
Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment, because he chose to fight for the anti-apartheid movement. He was acquitted over a quarter of a century later on the terms of probation. South Africa and the world was excited to see Mandela after so long, but they could not imagine what his future promised.
In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the anti-apartheid movement. A year later, in 1994, he made history, and became South Africa’s first African president.
Mandela’s death on Dec. 5, 2013, sent a wave of grief across the world. Many saw Mandela as not only the former President of South Africa, but a global figure of peace and human rights. President Barack Obama ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff for the remainder of the weekend and through Monday, in honor of Mandela’s life and death.
As a boy, Mandela’s family lived at a near poverty level. After his father lost his position among his clan, Mandela’s family was forced to move to a small village where residents lived in huts. Mandela eventually was baptized, and became the first member of his family to attend school.
Mandela’s father died at a young age, and Mandela was taken in by a local tribal chief. For the rest of his life, he became increasingly interested in African rights in South Africa, and would eventually do something about his interest.
He joined the African National Congress in 1942, a group committed to the anti-apartheid movement. For several decades, he followed a series of acts of defiance against the government and their policies.
Mandela was then arrested for acts against the government and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962. When he was released, he continued to fight for the right of Africans to vote, and finally won the struggle, which, as a result, gained him the presidency in 1994. He later published an autobiography called “Long Walk to Freedom”.
Even after Mandela’s resignation from the presidency in 1999, he continued to work on global issues on politics.
However, in his later years, Mandela began to have multiple medical problems, the most devastating of all were his lung infections. After countless visits to the hospital, he died at the age of 95 on Dec. 5, 2013.
Mandela, much like other political and civil rights activists, devoted his entire life into what he believed in, and has become a global figure for civil rights. He is living proof that even one person alone can make a difference by fighting for what they believe in. President Obama, in a speech shortly after his death, said, “We have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages.”
Remembering Nelson Mandela, dead at 95
In America, Martin Luther King Jr. led one of the biggest civil rights movements in history, and gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963. In Africa, an even bigger movement was needed to bring equality to South Africa, and one of the leaders of that movement was Nelson Mandela.
Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment, because he chose to fight for the anti-apartheid movement. He was acquitted over a quarter of a century later on the terms of probation. South Africa and the world was excited to see Mandela after so long, but they could not imagine what his future promised.
In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the anti-apartheid movement. A year later, in 1994, he made history, and became South Africa’s first African president.
Mandela’s death on Dec. 5, 2013, sent a wave of grief across the world. Many saw Mandela as not only the former President of South Africa, but a global figure of peace and human rights. President Barack Obama ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff for the remainder of the weekend and through Monday, in honor of Mandela’s life and death.
As a boy, Mandela’s family lived at a near poverty level. After his father lost his position among his clan, Mandela’s family was forced to move to a small village where residents lived in huts. Mandela eventually was baptized, and became the first member of his family to attend school.
Mandela’s father died at a young age, and Mandela was taken in by a local tribal chief. For the rest of his life, he became increasingly interested in African rights in South Africa, and would eventually do something about his interest.
He joined the African National Congress in 1942, a group committed to the anti-apartheid movement. For several decades, he followed a series of acts of defiance against the government and their policies.
Mandela was then arrested for acts against the government and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962. When he was released, he continued to fight for the right of Africans to vote, and finally won the struggle, which, as a result, gained him the presidency in 1994. He later published an autobiography called “Long Walk to Freedom”.
Even after Mandela’s resignation from the presidency in 1999, he continued to work on global issues on politics.
However, in his later years, Mandela began to have multiple medical problems, the most devastating of all were his lung infections. After countless visits to the hospital, he died at the age of 95 on Dec. 5, 2013.
Mandela, much like other political and civil rights activists, devoted his entire life into what he believed in, and has become a global figure for civil rights. He is living proof that even one person alone can make a difference by fighting for what they believe in. President Obama, in a speech shortly after his death, said, “We have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages.”