Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a South African leader who fought to end apartheid, a system of laws that kept Black and white people separate and unequal. He lived from 1918 to 2013. He spent 27 years in prison for his work, then walked out and helped change his country without revenge. In 1994, he became the first Black president of South Africa.

Mandela was born in a small village in the Eastern Cape. His family belonged to the Thembu people, and his father was an advisor to the Thembu king. As a young man, Mandela trained as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he saw how unfair life was for Black South Africans. They could not vote. They had to carry special passes. They were forced to live in poorer areas and use worse schools, hospitals, and trains.

In 1948, the white government made these rules even stricter. The new system was called apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning "apartness." Mandela joined a group called the African National Congress, or ANC, to fight back. At first he led peaceful protests, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. After the police killed 69 unarmed protesters in 1960, Mandela helped start an armed wing of the ANC. He was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to life in prison.

For 18 of his 27 years in prison, Mandela was held on Robben Island, a windy rock off the coast of Cape Town. He slept on a thin mat in a tiny cell. He broke rocks in a quarry under the hot sun. The bright glare damaged his eyes for the rest of his life. But he kept reading, studying, and quietly leading. Around the world, more and more people demanded his release.

By the late 1980s, apartheid was crumbling. Other countries refused to trade with South Africa. The protests inside the country grew. In 1990, the government finally let Mandela go. He was 71 years old. Most people in his place would have called for revenge. Mandela called for forgiveness instead.

He worked with the white president, F.W. de Klerk, to end apartheid peacefully. The two men shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. The next year, South Africa held its first election in which everyone could vote. Mandela won. He served one term and then stepped down, which was rare for an African president at the time.

South Africans called him Madiba, his clan name, as a sign of love and respect. His birthday, July 18, is now Mandela Day, when people around the world are asked to spend 67 minutes helping others, one minute for each year he served his country.