Nelson Mandela

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear" (Ben). Those influential words were said by the great leader, Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela is my hero. The hero that had the courage to conquer his fear and do huge things. "Born July 18, 1918, Umtata, Cape of Good Hope, S.A.) Black Nationalist and first black president of South Africa (1994-99). His negotiations in the early 1990s with South African Pres. helped end the country's apartheid system of racial segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule. Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993 for their efforts. Nelson Mandela renounced his claim to the chieftainship to become a lawyer. He attended South African Native College (later the University of Fort Hare) and studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand; he later passed the qualification exam to become a lawyer" (Mandela). In 1994, the Mandela- led ANC won South Africa's first elections by universal suffrage, and then, a month later, he was sworn in to the first multicultural country as president. A year later, he brought up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which investigated the violations of human right under apartheid and presented housing, education, and development creativities that were made to make the living standards better for the African American population. In 1996 he supervised the making of the first democratic constitution in South Africa. He resigned his post with the ANC in 1997. Mandela divorced in 1966 and remarried in 1998. (Mandela). He was born in a small village in South Africa near the Indian Ocean. He grew up in a limited village and didn't have much growing up. His family and the other families there were all close and tight nit. They depended on each other and Nelson had a sturdy childhood with everyone there looking out for each other. (de Zayas). After Mandela experienced the troubles in his life and his experiences in jail, he decided to take a military training in Ethiopia. Mandela wanted to make sure he had security for his country and family and did not want any harm to come to him or anybody else with issues. (de Zayas). "On June 26, 1952, the official start of the campaign, Mandela was arrested for the first time by South African police for violating the curfew restrictions imposed on Africans at that time"(Williams). In 1950, he was elected president of the Youth league. He accomplished something huge after the apartheid system was fully formed (Williams). In 2013 Nelson Mandela unfortunately passed away at the age of 95 from a respiratory infection. "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father"(Anderson). The people that looked up to Mandela, lost not only a hero that day, but a father. Nelson acted for the people so much that he was the person who everyone looked up to as the huge father of a country figure. A hero that leads major elements must possess leadership, responsibility, and love to truly deserve the title of a hero. The leadership to make changes and take charge of the things and problems that needs solving. Every hero needs to be responsible. Many people want a leader to take care of a country, not boss people around for themselves. The responsibility that it takes to run a country comes from the heart and soul of a real true leader. The love will come naturally to those who really mean it and want to do well in the world rather than those who have to force good to make people like them. Nelson Mandela showed pure love and passion for what he did and that holds the key to being the perfect leader. Nelson Mandela is widely known for his great achievements, but when you look deeper into his life, you can recognize how he sincerely loved his family and others around him even in tough times, he took the responsibility of a country, and stood up for what was right.

Loving everyone equally is the strongest bond that connects people together. Nelson Mandela connected with everyone in South Africa because he accepted everyone for what they were and loved everyone the same. Once the research is done further beyond the great titles, the hard work that it took to get there shows how Nelson Mandela loved everyone around him equally, took the job of leading a country and never backed down defending the things he loved. Alfred de Zayas writes the details on how Nelson Mandela cared about everyone when he says, "White rule in South Africa meant that some 5 million whites governed over a population of 25 million blacks, Indians, and other ethnicities. As an alternative to apartheid, Mandela offered a plan for a multiracial society, in which majority black rule would guarantee the welfare of all South Africans, black and white alike. As early as June 1955 he drafted an idealistic program, the "Freedom Charter," containing principles of coexistence and reconciliation" (de Zayas). When Mandela found out about the white rule in South Africa, he realized that the whites were governing all of the other ethnicities there. He saw it almost as apartheid, and that was not acceptable. In awareness, Mandela suggested a multiracial society. The 

Nelson Mandela is a hero because he took the responsibility of leading a country to make things better. The biography reference center states in their article "Nelson Mandela" that, "On Feb. 11, 1990, the South African government under President de Klerk released Mandela from prison. Shortly after his release, Mandela was chosen deputy president of the ANC; he became president of the party in July 1991. Mandela led the ANC in negotiations with de Klerk to end apartheid and bring about a peaceful transition to nonracial democracy in South Africa" (Mandela). Even after the difficulties that he had, Mandela fought through the tough times and was chosen, for his great efforts and credibility, the president of the ANC. He took control of the situation and did everything in his power to make things right and change all the things that needed to be changed. He led the ANC and led a country with heart and love for what he did. Mandela fought to end the apartheid and bring peace to everyone for a non-segregation country and way of living in South Africa. In the article written by Alfred de Zayas he presents information that relates to the responsibility of Nelson Mandela. "As a member of the ANC executive committee from 1949, Mandela organized the Defiance Campaign in 1952, a nonviolent mass resistance movement against apartheid laws. Also in 1952 Mandela and Tambo opened a law firm in downtown Johannesburg, the first black law firm in South Africa, specializing in defending black South Africans from the injustices associated with apartheid laws, particularly the so-called pass laws that restricted freedom of residence and movement" (de Zayas) When Mandela joined the ANC committee he knew from the start that he wanted to do well for his country. In 1952 when Mandela made the defiance campaign, he wanted to stop the apartheid laws so the country could be together as on no matter what race anybody was. Mandela made a change for his country and made the first ever black law firm in South Africa. Mandela cared about his country and the people and knew that since no one else was doing anything about the cause, he ought to. He knew that making a change was for the better and that it would not only benefit him, it would benefit everyone of his country. Nelson Mandela not only took care of his country but he also protected and secured it. He made sure that nothing troubled it and no harm came to any of the people. The responsibility that he took on to protect and serve South Africa demonstrates a quality that every person should strive to have.

Standing up for what is right is a quality that every hero should have and it is an ideal quality that Nelson Mandela portrays. Nelson Mandela demonstrates the bravery he had for making things right when the biography includes, "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die" (Biography). Mandela was shown as a great man that served for all people. He says how he was there for his country through everything. Mandela stood up for others in life and showed how it was like to be the first to do things or make that big of a difference. If others stood around, he was the first to make a move and make a change. The care he had for making things right had no end to what he was willing to do. Although he had tough times, Williams states how Mandela continued to stand up for what was right and never stopped. "Despite his ordeal, Mandela's spirit and commitment to ending apartheid had not diminished. He spoke to throngs of people in Cape Town and Soweto and stressed his unequivocal loyalty to the ANC and his continued support for armed struggle and for an international campaign of divestment and economic sanctions against South Africa. Additionally, after his release, Mandela traveled extensively outside South Africa, including a visit to the United States in June, 1990, during which he stressed the importance to his cause of maintaining sanctions against the apartheid-supporting government. In 1991, during its first national conference, ANC members chose Mandela to be the organization's president" (Williams). Mandela's love for his country and his sincerity to everyone had overpowered the years that he was locked up. The faith never went away and his fire only got stronger because he saw what was going on and knew that even still if it got any worse that it was going to turn out bad. The fire that he had gave him that extra courage to go and fight for what he wanted. The strength to confront the problems, no matter where and tell them that what was going on was bad or that things needed to stop. He defended his country when they needed it the most. If the matter had gotten worse while he was imprisoned, the work that he needed to do was increased and that wasn't a problem. It was his country and he needed to defend it and stand up for it even if it meant going to the worse matters. He wasn't going to stop fighting because his family and country were the things that mattered the most to him. When people are in need of saving, people usually come to the rescue. Nelson Mandela came to the rescue of the people of South Africa to make the country better in times of need. Throughout all the troubled days and some people rebelling, he never stood down and gave up. Mandela took control and stood up for all the good things that happened or that needed to happen. He is the hero that never gave up and is always the one to make the changes for the better.