A Long Walk to Freedom

Final Blog Post

After reading the incredible novel by David peltzer, The Child Called “It”, I decided I wanted to take a look at an international role model and freedom-fighter, Nelson Mandela. The novel takes place in Southern Africa during the age of apartheid. Apartheid was the segregation of people due to race. It allowed the white people to receive several opportunities that the blacks would never have in their entire lifetime. They were constantly segregated; the blacks even had to use their own restrooms. Everything the blacks had was significantly worse in quality when compared to what the whites had. What angered the native South Africans most, was that they were being degraded and deprived of rights in their own land. This was their country, and yet they weren’t allowed to vote for their own leader.

In his novel, A Long Walk to Freedom, Madiba (meaning “leader” as the people of South Africa call him) explains the struggles he faced as he stayed in the Robben Island prison for 27 years. The Robben Island prison was the most secured prison in all of South Africa and the nature of it was very similar to Alcatraz in that it was completely isolated from continental South Africa.  Mandela was put into this prison because of apparent treason to South Africa when he only desired to improve relations between the blacks and whites and end apartheid.

Madiba describes the challenges he faced and the living hell that he was put through in his time in the Robben Island prison. After he had been released from prison, he had felt furious. His entire life as a young man had been wasted as he rotted in a prison for trying to fix the evil that had been prevalent in southern Africa. Mandela had spent about four years after his time in prison isolated, as he was so angered. He had been looked up to by most of the native South Africans, as he was fighting for their rights. So, when he was released from prison, he was continuously asked to take over the position as president of South Africa. He describes how he would wait until his time was over, and how he would attempt to instill in the prisoners an idea that peace takes precedence over violence and reason takes precedence over impulse. This idea was extremely odd to many of the black prisoners as they feel that they should have revenge on the individuals who had done them so much harm. They felt that violence and rage was the only way to deal with the injustice that they faced on a day to day basis simply because of the color of skin they were born with. Mandela instituted the ANC(African National Conference) after his release from the Robben Island prison which was composed of black men who desired freedom from discrimination. He became President of South Africa in 1994, at the age of 76.

Madiba’s incredible story can inspire a generation. His death was a loss to all but that does not mean his legacy will not live on.

A sign segregating the whites and blacks by assigning them specific lavatories.