NARRATOR: Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist
and the first black president of South Africa.
He was born Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918,
in the rural village of Mvezo.
A descendant of the Thembu royal family,
Mandela's father served as a local chief
and counselor to the king.
His devout Christian mother enrolled him
in a Methodist school, where he was
given the English name Nelson.
After his father's death, the 12-year-old Mandela
was brought to the center of the Thembu monarchy
to be raised by the king's regent.
Living among the royal family exposed
Mandela to powerful examples of black leadership
that remained a source of influence throughout his life.
Mandela attended the University College of Fort Hare
and studied law at the University of Witwatersrand
in Johannesburg.
The school's only black student and a frequent target
of racism, Mandela soon began to immerse himself in the world
of radical politics.
In 1944, he joined the African National Congress,
an anti-colonialist political party
that fought to enfranchise and empower
the black population living under an oppressive white
authority.
Mandela helped to found the ANC's youth league
and quickly rose in its ranks alongside fellow activists
Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu.
With the national party's rise to power in 1948,
South Africa's racial inequality was officially codified
under the system of apartheid.
The government passed legislation
that institutionalized discrimination
and enforced the supremacy of the minority white population.
Mandela and the ANC fought back, launching the defiance
campaigns of 1952, a series of nonviolent, direct actions
uniting black, Indian, and communist coalitions
through coordinated civil disobedience.
The National Party swiftly cracked down on their efforts,
jailing Mandela and banning him from the ANC.
Before long, the campaign had died out.
In 1956, Mandela and 155 colleagues
were tried for treason.
While they were ultimately acquitted,
Mandela became convinced that apartheid would not
fall without armed resistance.
In 1961, he formed the MK, a militant branch of the ANC
that committed targeted acts of sabotage
against the government and its military.
The MK's guerrilla tactics were effective.
But in August 1962, Mandela was captured.
Charged with conspiracy, he received a life sentence.
Incarcerated at Robben Island, Mandela
remained a symbol of black South African resistance.
During his years behind bars, he continued his fight
on a smaller scale, organizing against the prison's
inhumane conditions through demonstrations and teach-ins.
Calls for Mandela's freedom gradually built up
global support, and South Africa's government
buckled under growing pressure.
Finally, in 1990, after 27 years,
Mandela was released from prison.
South Africa held its first open elections in 1994.
The African National Congress, led by Mandela,
won in a landslide.
As president, Mandela prioritized national programs
that expanded access to social services,
education, and housing.
His administration also established the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, which
served to investigate and confront
human rights violations committed under apartheid.
At the end of his first term in 1999,
Mandela retired from politics.
He continued to commit himself to activism,
particularly in response to the AIDS crisis,
until the end of his life.
In 2013, Mandela died of a respiratory infection
at age 95.
He still stands as both the father of his nation
and an international symbol of hard-won liberation.