TS3 : Mandela—An Ideal for which I am prepared to die

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"An ideal for which I am prepared to die"

Mandela made this statement from the dock at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage, Supreme court of South Africa, Pretoria, April 20 1964

(...)Africans want to be paid a living wage. Africans want to perform work which they are capable of doing, and not work which the government declares them to be capable of. Africans want to be allowed to live where they obtain work, and not be endorsed out of an area because they were not born there. Africans want to be allowed to own land in places where they work, and not to be obliged to live in rented houses which they can never call their own. Africans want to be part of the general population, and not confined to living in their own ghettoes.

African men want to have their wives and children to live with them where they work, and not be forced into an unnatural existence in men's hostels. African women want to be with their menfolk and not be left permanently widowed in the reserves. Africans want to be allowed out after 11 o'clock at night and not to be confined to their rooms like little children. Africans want to be allowed to travel in their own country and to seek work where they want to and not where the labour bureau tells them to. Africans want a just share in the whole of South Africa; they want security and a stake in society.

Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.  (The Nelson Mandela Foundation)

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Mandela in the Courtroom -

Mandela’s trial

• What risk did Nelson Mandela take in
making this speech? Why do you think he still made it?

• What evidence does he present to
justify moving from a strategy of non-violence to one of violence?

What conditions does he say black
Africans want from the South African government?

• How effective was Nelson Mandela as a
leader ?

TS3 : Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Rushing the Train

Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom - Mandela Speaking to Youth Group - The W...

“Mandela Speaking to Youth Group/Rushing the train »

• Do you believe the anti-apartheid resistance movement had any other option other than the one they took? Explain your answer.

• Would you classify members of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa as freedom fighters or criminals?Explain

• Do you think the South Africa government was justified in its reaction to the MK organization? Explain your answer.

Oppose Winnie Mandela to Nelson Mandela : the evolution of their political
involvement.
"
Some of the things so far told to the court are true and some are untrue. I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness, nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by the whites.
I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto we Sizwe. I deny that Umkhonto was responsible for a number of acts which clearly fell outside the policy of the organisation, and which have been charged in the indictment against us. I, and the others who started the organisation, felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy. All lawful modes of expressing opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state of inferiority, or to defy the government. We chose to defy the law.
We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer violence with violence. " (Mandela's speech at his trial for sabotage in 1963)

TS3 :Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Rally at Sophiatown -

« Rally at Sophia Town »  

• Summarize Nelson Mandela’s message as he talks to the crowd.

• What evidence does he cite to support his claim that the apartheid system is unfair? What examples does he take ?

• In his speech to the crowd, Nelson Mandela decries the fact that black South Africans don’t have the right to vote.
Explain how important the right to vote is, particularly under these circumstances. 

" 
In 1960 the government held a referendum which led to the establishment of the republic. Africans, who constituted approximately 70% of the population, were not entitled to vote, and were not even consulted. I undertook to be responsible for organising the national stay-at-home called to coincide with the declaration of the republic. As all strikes by Africans are illegal, the person organising such a strike must avoid arrest. I had to leave my home and family and my practice and go into hiding to avoid arrest. The stay-at-home was to be a peaceful demonstration. Careful instructions were given to avoid any recourse to violence. (...)
The lack of human dignity experienced by Africans is the direct result of the policy of white supremacy. White supremacy implies black inferiority. Legislation designed to preserve white supremacy entrenches this notion. Menial tasks in South Africa are invariably performed by Africans.

When anything has to be carried or cleaned the white man will look around for an African to do it for him, whether the African is employed by him or not. Because of this sort of attitude, whites tend to regard Africans as a separate breed. They do not look upon them as people with families of their own; they do not realise that they have emotions - that they fall in love like white people do; that they want to be with their wives and children like white people want to be with theirs; that they want to earn enough money to support their families properly, to feed and clothe them and send them to school. And what "house-boy" or "garden-boy" or labourer can ever hope to do this?
Pass laws render any African liable to police surveillance at any time. I doubt whether there is a single African male in South Africa who has not had a brush with the police over his pass. Hundreds and thousands of Africans are thrown into jail each year under pass laws. " (Mandela's speech in 1963 )
 

TS3 :Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Mandela as a Lawyer

Mandela as a lawyer/ In the courtroom

A°What seems to be Mrs. De Kok’s attitude as Nelson Mandela first questions her on the witness stand?

• What would you say is her level of respect for Mr. Mandela?

• Why do you think she felt “so insulted” at the line of Mandela’s questioning?

B°More generally what seems to be the overall goals of the apartheid laws?

• What fundamental human rights were violated by these laws?

What is apartheid and what impact did it have on South Africans?(See Mandela's speech at his own trial in 1963)