Harris Moody Short Paper 2 CORE- 320-11 Human Activists or Human Rights Defenders are people who, individually or with others, act to promote or protect some variation of a certain Human Right. Throughout history there have been many world famous Human Activists, some have won prizes such as the Nobel Peace Prize, while some have even lost their lives fighting for what they so strongly believe in. Some Human Activists choose to fight for their cause with violence, but many Activists take the non-violence rout to solving their conflict. Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev are two very different Human Activists coming from two very different places, Nelson Mandela was the first black President of South Africa and spent spent 27 years in …show more content…
Mvezo is a small area on the southern tip of South Africa, with a population of only 810 people in 2011. Mandela went to school in Qunu, his teacher Miss Mdingane gave all of the schoolchildren “christian” names, this is where he would be named Nelson. Later in 1930 Mandela’s father passed away, at only the age of 12, Nelson recalled hearing elder’s stories of his ancestors during the wars of resistance. He dreamed to someday make his father proud by making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people. Mandela completed his junior Certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute, he then went onto Healdtown a Wesleyan secondary school. After he started his studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare, in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Although his dreams of graduating were cut short after he was expelled for joining in a student protest. When Mandela returned back to his village the King was furious and said if he didn’t return to Fort Hare he would arrange wives for him and his cousin. Nelson and his cousin being rebellious young men decided to run away to Johannesburg, in 1941, where he worked in a mine and met Walter Sisulu, an estate agent. Nelson then did his articles through a firm of attorneys and would later complete his BA through the University of South Africa in
Every individual should be capable of discovering a higher truth through their intuition, however, in some cases, there may be an obstacle preventing them. According to Henry David Thoreau and his belief of Transcendentalism, people should stick up for their beliefs and embrace civil disobedience to allow their thoughts to be heard. Thoreau, for example, refused to pay his taxes for the Mexican-American war which he did not believe in. Similarly, Nelson Mandela chose to use nonviolent defiance against the South African government. Under the government's rule they applied Apartheid, which divided the population into four distinct racial groups: white, black, colored, and Indian. Strict laws and segregation were enforced on the basis of these
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th, 1918 in Mvezo, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He is best known for his fight against apartheid and becoming the first black President of South Africa. Mandela was born into the Thembu people and was motivated to study law after experiencing the tribal democratic leadership. He joined the African National Congress in 1942 and participated in the organization of a many protests against apartheid. In 1952 “Mandela and Oliver Tambo started the first black law office in South Africa with the intent of fighting black injustice (Saunders, World Book 133)”. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and given a life sentence for charges for conspiring against the government. He was released in 1990 after serving 27 years. In 1993 he received the Nobel Peace Prize along with F. W. de Klerk for their contribution towards ending of apartheid and establishing multiracial elections. He was elected the first black President of South Africa in 1994. While in power he focused on fighting racism, inequality, and poverty in South Africa. Mandela retired his presidency in 1999 and made his last public appearance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final. Nelson Mandela died December 5th, 2013 in Johannesburg. Throughout his early life, his imprisonment, and his presidency, Nelson Mandela always stood for change.
The following three individuals fought for the same causes, ending apartheid and turning the attention of the world towards ending racial exclusion. Nelson Mandela was an activist for civil rights for the people of Africa. When Nelson Mandela was 13 years old he could see that he was not free. That the freedom that his youth provided him was an illusion. When Nelson Mandela was 23 years old he began to realize that it was not only he that was denied his freedom, but his friends, his family, and everybody who has the same color of skin that he has. “But then I slowly saw that not only was I not free, but my brothers and sisters were not free. I saw that it was not just my freedom that was curtailed, but
His father had a dream to become a chief but that dream sadly wasn’t fulfilled. Instead, he served as a counselor to tribal chiefs for several years but he then lost his title and fortune. Nelson’s family was forced to move to Qunu, a smaller village north of Mvezo. When Rolihlahla went to Methodist Primary School in Qunu, he was given the name Nelson by his teacher, Miss Mdingane, because all the students had to have Christian names. He completed his junior certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute and went to Wesleyan Secondary school. A few years later, Nelson’s father died from a lung disease. Nelson was later adopted by a chief named Jongintaba Dalindyebo. Nelson was being treated equally as the chief’s other children, they had the same title and the same type of respect. Nelson Mandela had an art degree at the University College of Fort Hare where he met his
Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa in 1918. The son of a chief, Mandela was able to get a better education than many of his peers. These formative years seem to have played a big role on the activist he would later become. “(He) was encouraged to challenge the boundaries that colonialism and apartheid imposed on South Africans. He encountered a number of people who seemed to exemplify this challenge to the status quo, being taught, for example, by the first female African graduate, Gertrude Ntlabathi.”(Moore, 281) This was the beginning of a long and important journey for Mandela, and all of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela was born 1918 into a Royal family in a South African village, after the death of his father he was groomed into the role within the tribal leadership. He was the first in his family to receive formal education, he excelled in boxing, track and as well as academics. He attended the elite University of fort Hare, the only western style higher learning institute in South Africa at the time.
Mandela was baptized and became the first in his family to attend school, and as a custom, the teacher gave him a British name, Nelson. When Mandela was 12, his father died of lung disease. Feeling obliged, Chief Jongintaba adopted Mandela and took him into the royal chief residence in Mqhekezweni and gave him the status and the responsibility equal to two of his own children. From then on, Mandela studied in a one-room school next to the palace. That was the time he started to become interested in African History and learned about the unfair treatment of the British towards the defenceless Africans. At the age of 16, Mandela received the traditional ritual that marked his entry into manhood. For education, as a royalty, Mandela first attended the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan College, then University College of Fort Hare in 1939 to prepare for the job of an interpreter or clerk. During the second year at Fort Hare, Mandela was elected Studen...
In school, Mandela was given his English name of Nelson. After his father's death, he moved to love with a regent, who was a well-off individual and owed Nelson's father for a previous favor. The next several years were full of schooling for Nelson. These schools opened Nelson's eyes to many things, which we will discuss later. He and the regent's son, Justice, decided to travel to Johannesburg and see what work they could find.
Nour Ellisy 3/11/14 English 10H Ms.Metrakos Annotated Bibliography Entries. Annotated Bibliography Entry Source #1 Nelson Mandela taught us that the humanity all of us share can help us transcend the sins some of us commit. There is no better example of the transformative power of tolerance and reconciliation than Nelson Mandela and his inspiring work in overthrowing the apartheid government in South Africa. He understood the power of words to change minds and the power of peaceful deeds to open hearts. His life reminds us that justice and tolerance can overcome even the greatest cruelty.
When most people think of South Africa, the first name that comes to mind is Nelson Mandela. Born in 1918, during a time when white men held most of the power, there was a system of segregation against ‘colored people’ called apartheid. Throughout his life, Mandela worked to fight against this segregation and endured extreme human rights violations. Nelson Mandela is a hero because his efforts were a contributing factor in bringing an end to apartheid and he influenced major changes within the county of South Africa.
Mandela escaped north to Johannesburg and then fled to Alexandra, where he met Walter Sisulu. He involved Mandela in politics. Sisulu introduced him to the African National Congress (ANC). Soon after that, Mandela was appointed volunteer-in-chief for a resistance campaign in 1952. Mandela began to quarrel for the black rights as the days went by. He became invol...
Nelson Mandela’s was born in July, 1918 in a small village in South Africa called Qunu, in the Transkei province. His name, Nelson, was given to him during his first day in school at the age of seven. At the time, he was the first of his family to get an education, but African students were given british names. The education in African schools was all related to british culture and thought. Nelson believed that British life was the reigning culture outside of his tribal life.
“To deny people their right to human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of hunger and deprivation is to dehumanize them. But such has been the terrible fate of all black persons in our country under the system of apartheid (“In Nelson Mandela’s own words”). Nelson Mandela was a moral compass symbolizing the struggle against racial oppression. Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after twenty-seven years to lead his country to justice. For twenty-seven years he sat in a cell because he believed in a country without apartheid, a country with freedom and human rights. He fought for a country where all people were equal, treated with respect and given equal opportunity. Nelson Mandela looms large in the actions of activists and politicians. He inspired music and movies, and swayed the mind of powerful leaders. Making him an influential person who affected American culture.
He was the president of South Africa, and his full name is Nelson Rolihlaha Mandela. He was born in town called Mvezo, which is fallen in Transkei region. He belongs to Madiba clan. He was from high standard family, and his father was the chief of his town. He was the first member of his family who had been educated in Qunu, and it was missionary school. People stated to call him Nelson because his teacher could not pronounce his original name, which is Rolihlaha. After his father’s death, a man who had a high-ranking position in his city adopted Nelson Mandela. His name was Jongintaba, and Mandela learned a lot of things about to be a leader from this man. Then, he joined Fort Hare University, and it was in 1939. During that he met his friend Oliver Tambo. While they were in the university, they had some political activity. For instance, they protest against the policies of the university at that time, so they dismissed out of the university. Years later, he graduated for Law School, and he got his certification from University of Witwatersand. After his graduation, Mandala worked in different places before be a member of African National Congress. In 1944 he go married and had for children, but 1958 he divorced from his wife Evelyn Mase.
Nelson Mandela played an important role in the abolition of Apartheid. He helped start and lead some of the riots and protests that led to black rights, and he spent a long time in prison to pay for it. He inspired many people. As he said, quoting Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world… We are all meant to shine (Williamson).” Overall, he played a very important role in abolishing Apartheid in South Africa.