Hello. My name is Nelson. Let me introduce you to my country

and its rich history.

My country has an abundance of good natural resources including

great fertile farmlands.

However, the white English and Dutch people came to my

country in the 1600s to set up colonies and use our land.

When diamonds were discovered 300 years later, around 1900, the Dutch and English had a great war over the ownership of my country.

My country eventually won our independence from England but a

group of white people took control and invented apartheid.

Apartheid

Apartheid was a name given to the racial segregation that this group supported against my family, my friends, and my fellow South Africans.Aparthied means “separateness” in Africaans.

All of the people of my country were classified into one of three

categories: white, black, or mixed.

The white people only made up 25% of my country’s population, but they owned almost 90% of the land.

My children were so crowded in a classroom of 60 students with

only 1 teacher.

The white students were in a classroom of only 20 children.

I worked hard to earn a dollar, but for every dollar that I earned, white people earned 14 dollars.

The ruling white people made new laws that was very mean to black people and others that were not white.

In my country, they made some areas of our land “non-black areas” where we were forbidden to go.

Just to pass through these areas, we needed a “pass book” with

our picture, fingerprint, and personal information on it.

Also, we could only vote for our local representatives. We could not vote for our nation’s leader.

If you spoke out in protest of the government, they could make you pay money, or put you in

jail, or beat you.

As a young man in my twenties, I joined an activist group to try and get equal rights for my fellow African people.

However, I was charged with high treason and came close to

severe punishment.

A few years later, the white ruling class made new laws that further restricted my people’s freedoms.

Some of my friends and fellow countrymen tried to speak out and 69 of them were shot dead by police in the Sharpville Massacre.

I took a stand for democracy, freedom, and equality but was charged with trying to overthrow the government and assigned to life in prison.

While I was in prison, my mother and oldest son died in the same year, but I was not allowed to

attend their funerals.

                                                                           

After 26 years in prison, I was released in 1990 as an old man.

After my release, I again tried to gain equality for my people in

my country and stop the violent uprisings where many were

killed.

In 1993, after three years of working for equality, I was

awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Then, just five months later, my country held its first election when my people could vote. And they elected me President.

My country progressed a lot while I was President, but after 4

years, I decided to retire.

Now I spend my time meeting with world leaders and trying to inspire others to carry on the battle for equality.

Perhaps you have heard of me before. My name is Nelson

Mandela.

If absent:…

Read chapter 24 section 2 and 3.

View BrainPop on Nelson Mandela.