Nelson Mandela -- Was / Is He

Nelson Mandela -- Was / Is He a Hero?

Definition of "Hero"

Is Nelson Mandela a true hero in the pure sense of the word? Is he justifiably considered a legitimate hero today? This paper points to several reasons why Nelson Mandela is indeed a bona fide hero, among the most revered and remarkably strong leaders and heroes in history. What is a hero? The Webster's New World College Dictionary explains that a hero is "…any person admired for courage, nobility, or exploits, esp. In war… any person admired for qualities or achievements and regarded as an ideal or model." The Oxford Universal Dictionary has a number of definitions, including: "One who does brave or noble deeds"; and "A man who exhibits extraordinary bravery, firmness, or greatness of soul, in connection with any pursuit, work or enterprise…" (Oxford Universal Dictionary, Little, et al., 1933, p. 895). Clearly from any of a number of "hero" perspectives, Mandela absolutely, without equivocation, qualities as a hero.

Mandela's Life -- Why He Wound Up in Prison for 27 Years

Daniel Lieberfeld writes in the peer-reviewed Peace Review that Mandela was born July 18, 1918 and grew up hearing the oral histories of tribal elders in South Africa's Transkei region (Lieberfeld, 2004, p. 387). The relative "uncorrupted" pre-colonial tribal society was undermined by "British imperial conquests," Lieberfeld explains. While in high school he became involved with the African National Congress (ANC) (his initial foray into politics), and in college (as a member of student government) he refused to compromise and was tossed out of the University of Fort Hare. In time Mandela became the first black African attorney, and following that he got involved in ANC's more militant actions against apartheid (segregation of races; white-led institutional racism), and eventually he was radicalized when a May Day protest in 1950 turned violent and police massacred a number of black protesters. In 1960, the Sharpeville protest resulted in nearly 70 protestors killed. The ANC was officially banned, and Mandela left the country to seek funds "…and military support for the ANC from newly independent African countries" (Lieberfeld, 389). When he returned to South Africa he was a hunted man, and hence he went underground for 17 months and essentially abandoned his family; his life at that time entailed organizing for ANC. He was put on trial in 1963 and while he knew he could be put to death under apartheid laws (treason), he made an impassioned speech in the courtroom that remains today as part of his legacy in his fight for racial justice: A democratic, non-racial South Africa was for Mandela "…an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die" (Lieberfeld, 389). He was given a life sentence rather than a death sentence.

The years in prison resulted in "…prolonged and intensive self-denial, given the years of heavy labor, poor diet, physically debilitating conditions… [and] stone-breaking in a lime quarry left Mandela with permanent difficulty in reading" because the dust attacked his eyes. And albeit he also endured "racist oppression," he developed a "high degree of control, mastering his anger and other emotions" along with developing a "steely toughness in his dealings with adversaries" which paid dividends later when freed because he needed to be cool and in control when he became involved in negotiations over a new government for South Africa (Lieberfeld, 390). In fact, because he had learned to have "steely toughness" and yet embrace a kind of political patience in negotiations, upon his release and his ascension to the presidency he negotiated the implementation of a coalition government in South Africa, and even won the trust of the "potentially militant Afrikaner Volksfront" hence assuring a peaceful transition to majority rule and democracy (Lieberfeld, 391). Interestingly, in 1985 the then-president of South Africa, William Botha, met Mandela in the prison on Robin Island and, according to M.S. Gill's book, Botha offered "…to release him provided he gave up armed struggle" (Gill, 2005, p. 171). Mandela replied to the president, "…there could not be any agreement between a prisoner and the president," Gill continues. However in 1990, the new president of South Africa, a liberal named D. Clark, released Mandela and "lifted the ban on the African National Congress" (Gill, 171). A 1992 national referendum was held for the white minority, which authorized elections that included Black citizens for the first time. Mandela won the "overwhelming majority of seats and was elected president" and hence, after 342 years of white "domination," the most "hated colonialism and despicable apartheid ended on May 10, 1994" (Gill, 171).