Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

Português: Brasília - O presidente da África do Sul, Nelson Mandela, é recebido na capital federal. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To understand the impact that Nelson Mandela, who died at age 95 after a long illness, had on South Africa and the world, you had to understand the social and political climate of the country he lived in.

We talk about the Civil Rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 60s, combating the Jim Crow laws in the American South with marches, boycotts and sometimes violence.  In South Africa, Jim Crow was called apartheid, another way of saying the races were meant to be separated with white people on top.  There it was national policy  Period.

Mandela, as a member of the African National Congress, spent his adult life trying  to convince the white-run government that blacks and those of mixed race deserved equal treatment with Caucasians.  For that, he served 27 years in prison.

While incarcerated, Mandela's legend grew as his name was censored in his own country.  "Free Mandela" protests became common all over the world.  Countries and noted figures refused to do business in South Africa.  The pressure on the government intensified as protests grew louder, tempers got shorter and apartheid laws were strengthened.

Then Mandela was released from prison to cheering crowds in 1990.  He worked with white President F.W. deKlerk to rid South Africa of its racist system, and helped to create a new country in the process.  Mandela served as President for one term, then oversaw the election of his successor.  For this, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with deKlerk in 1993.

Granted, Mandela wasn't always considered the hero he is today.  The United States government first labeled him a communist because they wanted to get in good with South Africa during the Cold War era.  And it took until 2008 to get Mandela off the terrorist watch list.

South Africa today is still on shaky ground with its multi-cultural government, but so far things seem to be holding together compared to the rest of the continent.  It's anyone's guess what will happen with Mandela's passing.  Will things remain peaceful, or will it go the way of so many African countries into war, terrorism and dictatorship?

Nelson Mandela chose to help change South Africa from a white-based method of legal discrimination against people of color to a democratic, multicultural society, and he chose to do it peacefully.  For this, he was an inspiration to his country and to millions around the world.  It is a legacy well deserved.