Nelson Mandela Dbq Essay

From 1948-1994, apartheid raged across South Africa. The people of South Africa were split into four different social groups based on race. The top of the social hierarchy at the time were the white South Africans. They held control from the government and kept the other groups in a constant state of oppression. These other groups included Indian people, “colored” people, and black people. Black South Africans made up almost 80% of South Africa however, they were majorly oppressed. They were forced to live in camps, have labor job options, and had little to no resources. In the 1950’s black South Africans started to fight against this oppression leading to the recent end of apartheid. They have been able to reclaim their narratives and express

Document 6 is an excerpt of Nelson’s speech after his release from prison on February 11, 1996. In this speech, he states that the people of South Africa need to come together to end apartheid, and shape a new South Africa that has less suffering, peace, and racial harmony. This document was written from the point of view of Nelson Mandela. Nelson led mass protests and boycotts during the peak of apartheid, got arrested and eventually got released to become the first elected black president of South Africa. He was the face of the fight against apartheid. Based on Nelson’s views that South Africa should be a place of peace and joy and his role in ending apartheid, it makes sense that he would create a speech empowering South Africa to hope for the same thing. This connects to why one of the benefits of reclaiming South Africa’s political narrative is ending human rights violations for their people because when Nelson was elected president and his goal was to end human suffering, the people of South Africa were hoping to do the same for themselves. Document 8a is a quote from Desmond Tutu in 1985.

Another way that South Africans have benefited from regaining their political narrative is that they now have the ability to control and make political decisions that benefit their people and their country. Document 4 is a preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which was established in 1996. It goes over the first section to what was established as South Africa’s new constitution after apartheid. It states the values of the Republic South Africa which include advancements towards human rights, freedom, the achievement of equality, and non racialism and non-sexism. It also expresses the value of having the ability to be a part of democratic voting and policies, and supremacy of the constitution/rule of law. This document was intended for the people of South Africa in order for them to understand the new level of humanity that they all now had rights to. During apartheid, black South Africans were not given the same level of respect as they should have been and were forced to live in situations that took their humanity and dignity away from them. This connects to how black South Africans benefited from regaining their political narrative because it made it possible for these new values to take place, and make their living conditions and their overall lives better. Document 3 is a primary source of the laws that took place during apartheid. These laws prohibited marriage between white people and other races, and created separation between races by