Throughout history, segregation has been prevalent in nations across the the globe. For South Africa, Nelson Mandela was the man who helped bring an end to it. Throughout Mandela’s life, he faced the struggle of apartheid, meaning apartness, which “had been taken to extreme ends in South Africa” ("Nelson Mandela"). In South Africa during apartheid, “blacks had absolutely no rights to organize or to vote”, so they had no influence over the government. ("Nelson Mandela"). Nelson Mandela had been born to lead, as he “had come from a long line of leaders. Born into a royal family in 1918, his grandfather was a king of the Thembu people. His father was a chief” (Costello). Nelson Mandela struggled with apartheid throughout his life, but through leadership, perseverance, and establishing foundations he was able to overcome it. …show more content…
Nelson Mandela brought people together by touring the country and encouraging people to take a stand and fight for their rights. Mandela was a powerful leader, and he “led by example, inspiring South Africa’s political and racial rivals to work together to build a democracy” (Costello). He succeeded, and became South Africa’s first democratically elected president. Mandela was an inspiration to South Africa, and he “was called…South Africa’s Great Black Hope” ("Nelson Mandela Fast Facts"), because he was “the person holding everything together” (Mason). Without Nelson Mandela, South Africa may have still been racially segregated