Nelson Mandela

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The Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Great Pyramids; these are some of the most recognizable cultural icons in the world today. A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group (Wikipedia). Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are examples of individuals who are important cultural icons to many Americans. Another person who is considered a cultural icon is Nelson Mandela; an individual who took a stand against apartheid in South Africa and established great strides toward racial equality in that part of the world. Mandela is considered as cultural icon because he achieved widespread recognition for his accomplishments with racial equality, he established a world-wide organization that researches possible cures for AIDS, and July eighteenth has been designated as international Mandela day.

In 1908, the white minority group of South Africa achieved independence from Great Britain and established a government where they controlled the majority population of non-whites (nobelprize.org). Nelson Mandela was born on the lands that the white government assigned to colored citizens in 1913. At the end of Mandela’s first year college at Fort Hare University, he became involved in a Students' Representative Council (SRC) boycott against university policies and was told to leave the university and not return unless he accepted election to the SRC (Wikipedia). Mandela left without finishing his degree. This action against the school is thought to have been the beginning of his fight against apartheid. In 1943, while studying law at the University of ...

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...bus.un.org/discrim/race_b_at_print.asp>.

"Briefing: Nelson Mandela International Day 2011." Nelson Mandela Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

"Nelson Mandela - Biography." Nobelprize.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

"Nelson Mandela - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

"Nelson Mandela and apartheid." South Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

"Nelson Mandela hero file." Moreorless : Heroes and killers of the 20th century. N.p., 2 Jan. 2001. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

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