In his autobiography A Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela narrates his life as he fought for freedom of Africans in South Africa. As a political activist, Mandela participated in many ways to fight for equality by opposing racism, all of which are detailed in part three of his autobiography, titled "Birth of a Freedom Fighter."
Mandela begins part three of his book by stating that there was not one moment in his life in which he said to himself, "From henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people" (Ch. 11). On the contrary, he merely found himself involved in the fight and "could not do otherwise" (Ch. 11). He further explains that, under the guidance of Walter Sisulu, one of his mentors, he became a proud member of the African National Congress (ANC), an organization Sisulu also supported and was a member of. Hence, becoming involved in the ANC is one way in which Mandela opposed racism.
In 1941, when the US entered World War II, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill signed into effect the Atlantic Charter to declare the two countries' war aims, both during and after the war. Inspired by the the 1941 Atlantic Charter, the ANC signed its own charter, titled the African Claims, calling for "full citizenship of all Africans, the right to buy land, and the repeal of all discriminatory legislation" (Ch. 11).
While in the ANC, Mandela took part in organizing the ANC Youth League, a second way through which he opposed racism. In 1942, the aim of the Youth League was to rally African youths to more actively protest against inequalities. The Youth League rallied for the "creation of one nation out of many tribes, the overthrow of white supremacy, and the establishment of a truly democratic government" (Ch. 11). In 1946, the Youth League drew inspiration for their own activities from the Natal Indian Congress, an organization that strove to fight discrimination against Indians living in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress launched a protest against white restriction of freedoms for Indians that became the model of protests for the Youth League. Thousands of the Indian community held mass rallies, picketed on white property, and went to jail. Mandela began to see the fight for freedom as requiring "meticulous organization, militant mass action, and, above all, the willingness to suffer and sacrifice" (Ch. 12). When apartheid started in 1948 under Prime Minister Daniel Malan of the National Party, the Youth League created the Program of Action, which "called for boycotts, strikes, stay-at-homes, passive resistance, protest demonstrations, and other forms of mass action" (Ch. 13). In conjunction with the Transvaal ANC, the Transvaal Indian Congress, the African People's Organization, and the District Committee of the Communist Party, ten thousand people gathered in Johannesburg's Market Square in March 1950 for the "Defend Free Speech Convention" (Ch. 13). The convention also declared May 1st to be Freedom Day, a day of general strikes. Other mass action events were organized, such as the Day of Protest on June 26, a day of "political strike on a national scale" (Ch. 13).
In addition, under the Youth League, he also helped organize the Defiance Campaign of June 26, 1952, the largest-scale, non-violence protest ever to occur in South Africa. On this day, groups of over 250 volunteers marched into Johannesburg, defying apartheid laws and singing freedom songs, and were arrested. Over a period of 5 months, 8,500 participated in the campaign. Though the campaign led to many arrests and failed to overturn apartheid laws, the campaign also drew the attention of the United Nations, leading to a UN investigation. The UN determined that the injustice of apartheid laws was of international concern, marking the beginning of the international fight against apartheid ("Defiance Campaign 1952," South African History Online). These among many other activities are ways in which Mandela oppose racism.
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