Nelson Mandela exclaimed to a crowd of hundreds, “I am prepared to die,” as he was about to receive his death sentence. The judge, baffled by his feeling of determination and spirit, decided he would spend life in prison instead. Mandela defiantly stood in front of an entirely white Supreme Court. His actions showed a point in time showed one of the many moments were Mandela took a stand. Taking a stand in history is where someone changes the world around them. Nelson Mandela took a stand in history by secretly fighting apartheid and encouraging racial equality throughout all of South Africa.
Apartheid is a type of government that rates people on their skin color and birthplace. Apartheid is also another form of segregation. The highest and most powerful people were the whites. They had the most authority and had a much better chance at getting jobs. The mid-rates were the Indian peoples. These
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This took place in South Africa, Europe, and the United States. They would stand in front of government buildings with signs and posters. These protests went on for about 15 years then the government decided to cease the strikings. On March 21, 1960, guns fired in the town of Sharpeville, Transvaal. The massacre left 69 people dead and hundreds injured. It occurred in a police station were 5,000 to 7,500 people crowded into the station after they passed laws of apartheid. Mandela, having heard of the massacre, created a new more militant branch of the Anti-Apartheid Movement called the Spear of the Nation or the NK. Nelson Mandela was forced live life in hiding. He would make speeches in old buildings and underground areas. The police would search for him day and night. Mandela had to wear disguises, work as a chauffeur, and get new haircuts. From 1961 to 1964, Mandela had blown up over 200 power lines, railways, and government