What was Nelson Mandela role in apartheid?
Over the next 95 years, Mandela would help topple South Africa’s brutal social order. During a lifetime of resistance, imprisonment, and leadership, Nelson Mandela led South Africa out of apartheid and into an era of reconciliation and majority rule.
What did Nelson Mandela do in the 1960s?
After the massacre of peaceful Black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Mandela helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in acts of sabotage against the white minority government. He was tried for and acquitted of treason in 1961 but in 1962 was arrested again for illegally leaving the country.
What was the purpose of Nelson Mandela speech?
Before the trial, Mandela and the other defendants decided that instead of testifying as witnesses and submitting to cross-examination he would make a speech from the dock to put the state on trial, by pointing out the injustices of the South African society and its legal system.
Who was involved in the struggle against apartheid?
The primary organization leading the struggle against apartheid was the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC was founded in 1913 in response to the oppression of non-white South Africans at the hands of the white ruling class. In 1943, Nelson Mandela—then a law student—joined…
When was the end of apartheid in South Africa?
The End of Apartheid and the Beginning of National Reconciliation. By the 1980s, resistance to apartheid had reached its peak. Many feared that a civil war in South Africa was inevitable. At last, leaders of the ruling National Party were left with little choice but to consider a drastic change of course.
Who was the first black president of South Africa?
In April of 1994, Nelson Mandela—the ANC’s candidate—became to the first black president in South Africa’s history. This victory represented the official end of apartheid and a moment of major triumph for black South Africans.
Why was the African National Congress formed in 1912?
I want, therefore, to say something about the African National Congress. The African National Congress was formed in 1912 to defend the rights of the African people which had been seriously curtailed by the South Africa Act, and which were then being threatened by the Native Land Act.