Nelson Mandela

Introduction

“I was not born with the hunger to be free. I was born free…It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood freedom was just an illusion, when I discovered as a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it all.” Nelson Mandela is a nationally acclaimed leader for his work during the apartheid in South Africa. A leader can be defined in many different ways, one way is that a leader is someone who goes against the status quo and fights for what they believe is right in order to make a difference. How does one become a leader? Some people suggest leaders are born with the skills needed to make a difference and others say leaders are made. Mandela wasn’t born with the urge to fight for freedom however once he realized that his freedom was an illusion he took necessary actions to change that and through those actions he became an extraordinary leader. Mandela used many leadership skills in the key role he played in ending the apartheid. Some of the skills he used where Critical Reflection, Democracy, and sustaining hope in the face of struggle. Mandela used these and other leadership skills during his work in the African National Congress, the Sharpeville massacre, and his imprisonment on Robben Island.

Turning Points

Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942. He was a key leader in the Congress and held many important titles within the Congress. The ANC was a turning point in Mandela’s life in which his leade...