Long Walk to Freedom

Year of publication: 2016

Author: Nelson Mandela
638 pages
Link for purchase: https://amzn.to/2xm0UxN

The book Long Walk to Freedom was published in 1994 and portrays
Nelson Mandela's autobiography from the day he was born to the date
of his inauguration as president of South Africa in 1994. All these 76
years are described on the basis of his memoirs, reminiscent of
important events with incredible wealth of details.
There are also details about his life, education and the moments in
which he remained in prison. In addition, it portrays the political
advance and the arduous struggle to rebuild the segregated society of
the country, causing him to gain international recognition.
All the content is very light and pleasant, causing an approximation and
engagement of the reader.

Main ideias of the book

Score The most important points raised by the book are:

9
9 Aplicability
● The awakening for justice began in his childhood in the
10 Inspiration
countryside;
7 Innovation
● The policy began in Johannesburg;
9 Impact on results
● Apartheid came from the promotion of the National Party in
9 Structure
power;

● The beginning of the violence by militants was based on the harshest tactics that the government implanted;
● The struggle intensified proportionately with the persecution of Mandela;
● Mandela was arrested and kept his stance during the 27 years in prison, while violence was too much across the
country;
● Freedom fighters have been able to get global support, and have begun negotiations with the government;
● Mandela was released and continued his negotiating work with the government;
● Mandela became president of South Africa.

For whom is this book suitable?

The content of the book is ideal for you who likes great biographies that are responsible for influencing millions of
people.
In addition, the content is for you who seek example of values, endurance, integrity and determination,
contemplating practical examples of all the struggles and achievements of a great South African leader.

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 Overview of the book

Childhood and Adolescence

Nelson Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in July

1918. His father was head of a tribe and named Mandela as
"Rolihlahla," which means "troublemaker."
When his father died, his family sent him to live with Chief Jongintab.
He often attended tribal meetings, getting to know the suffering of A Nation should not be
his people and witnessing the claim to white sovereignty.
Overall, Mandela received a good education for a South African,
judged by how it treats its
being the first of the family to go to school. The school he attended highest citizens, but it's
was entirely British, leaving black people and African culture alone lowest ones
aside.
In 1937, after completing the Junior Certificate at Healdtown College
in two years, he moved to Fort Hare College, where he began
studying law, politics, English, and anthropology.

However, during the second year of school, Mandela was expelled for supporting a boycott of the students in order
to gain greater representativeness of the students.

Policy Start

In 1941, Mandela moved to Johannesburg and got a job as night watchman in a gold mine. And there began an
internal nuisance, because his view was that mines only benefited whites and Africans were enslaved.
According to Mandela, Walter Sisulu was a bridge for his desire to be fulfilled, because it was through him he got a
new job in one of the largest law firms while studying law at the University of South Africa.
At that time, Mandela began attending the meetings of the African National Congress (ANC), which aims to ensure
the citizenship of all Africans within South Africa, and a hope of change for the country.
Thus, he gained a taste for activism, effectively participating in the struggles for citizenship. In addition, Mandela
has made strong friendships with other activists.

Introduction to Apartheid

In 1944, he joined the Youth League with support from the ANC, whose aim was get more support, since the
Congress was small.
In the midst of all this, Mandela married for the first time, with the nurse Evelyn Mase.
In 1948, the National Party came to power in South Africa. Throughout the campaign, the party made
announcements favoring a segregation. When he took power he was no different, he immediately took a series of
measures that put the apartheid regime into practice.

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 Thus began a series of contestations. According to Mandela, an interesting milestone was in 1950, regarded as
the National Day of Protest, which consisted of asking workers to stay at home because of the government
announced act that racial groups should remain separate.
This act was a success, and made the ANC increase (much) the number of members.
Due to civil disobedience, the police quickly imprisoned Mandela for the first time. Subsequently, he and
members of the ANC were arrested again, brought to trial and found guilty of opposing the government. But the
nine-month sentence was suspended for lack of evidence.
In 1952, Mandela founded his law firm with the goal of helping Africans. Whenever he appeared in court, it was
challenging. This has led the government to bar his participation in court.

Mandela reported that he and Walter Sisulu believed that one of the alternatives to face the increasingly harsh
laws introduced, would be through violence.

Beginning of violence and persecution

The police had already begun to restrain Mandela, and at first kept him out of politics. And in 1956, he was
arrested (along with many others leading campaigns against the government) by police who claimed that
Mandela had planned violent acts in defense campaigns.
As the judicial process slipped, external conflicts were at full throttle. In 1960, police killed 69 and injured more
than 400 people during the Sharpeville tragedy. This led to national protests, prompting the government to
declare a state of emergency.
Shortly thereafter, the judicial process improved, and the accused were acquitted because the evidence was
insufficient.
As a result, the debate on violence within the ANC had been long overdue. In a secret meeting with other ANC
members, Mandela pointed out that violence would become a norm. So he formed a military organization to fight
the government, named as MK.
That way, they began to prepare. He moved to the Liliesleaf farm, where he served as a hideout and training
camp. The group's idea was to sabotage government buildings, power plants and similar targets, announcing the
arrival of the MK and taking the government by surprise.

Mandela's Prison

At this point, Mandela said the government was crazy to get him. And this happened on August 5, 1962, when he
was returning to the Liliesleaf farm after a secret MK meeting.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other

people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our
own fear, our presence automatically liberates others

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 Mandela tried to defend himself, but the judge sentenced him to 5
years in prison without parole, and was sent to Robben Island.
After many witnesses and government investigations, Mandela was
found guilty on all counts, and all resulted in death penalty. But the
ONU instructed the amnesty for all those who opposed apartheid,
making his final sentence resulting in life imprisonment on Robben
Freedom is indivisible; the
Island.
chains on any one of my Life on the Island was very somber, had rigid systems of visitation and
people were the chains on many things were censored, such as the news about politics, books
and magazines.
all of them, the chains on
Meanwhile, the external situation only worsened, resulting in an
all of my people were the increase in the number of protests and militants across Africa. In
chains on me 1976, police massacred students during demonstrations in
Soweto.This massacre reverberated around the world and caused
great fury in the global and national media, not only the massacre,
but also apartheid.

Exalted feelings and early negotiations

In the early 80's, the feelings became more and more heated and everything was already out of control. It
significantly increased the number of black people to the struggle for freedom, new groups of militants and the
popularity of the ANC.
At that time, everything was already in conflict and violence on all sides. With that, Mandela saw the need to
negotiate with the government, as the ANC had already stated that it would not negotiate with a racist
government.
The first step to the negotiation came in 1986, when Mandela requested a meeting with the Defense Minister and,
to his surprise, it was accepted. After that, he was taken to the minister's house.
But things started to happen even in 1988, when the situation was chaotic, and the government saw that it had no
way but to resort to the negotiations with Mandela.
This has led to a series of secret meetings between Mandela and the government officials' committee. In 1989, the
meeting between the new president and Mandela took place, in order to hear what Mandela had to say to
promote peace.

The Beginning of Hope

Months after the meeting, it was decreed that Mandela would be released, as well as all arrested for non-violent
activities, in order to promote peace.
After 27 years in prison, Mandela was able to generate the impetus so that black freedom suddenly change with
great speed. But there were still many bridges to cross to end the violence and begin reconciliation.
According to Mandela, the nationalists issued an emergency decree, and the ANC negotiated with the government
to end the armed struggle against the apartheid government. Subsequently, Mandela was elected as the president
of the ANC.

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 The next steps were taken by the formal negotiations with the
government, which allowed the ANC to gain significant importance
and representation in the cabinet. Do you know the consequence of
this? ANC and National Party working side by side.
Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with Klerk, who was
president at that time and who negotiated with Mandela
On 27 April 1994, the ANC won 62.6% of the votes in the presidential
I have never cared very
election and Mandela took over as president until 1999. much for personal prizes. A
The work continued to be done, taking courageous steps and great person does not become a
breaks of barriers. According to Mandela, the initial goal has not yet
been achieved, but the desire to be free and not to be oppressed has
freedom fighter in the
been achieved. hope of winning awards

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 What other authors say about it?
According to the author John Maxwell, as he says in his book Developing The Leader Within You 2.0, Mandela is
cited as an example and reference to a personality of influence based on respect, and his followers are given the
values he has.

John Maxwell also mentions Mandela in the book The 21 Irrefutable Leadership Laws, in the 2nd law on
influence. The author says that leaders are able to influence people around them, by their causes and by their
goals.
In Nelson Mandela - A Life Lesson, author Jack Lang compares Mandela with characters from literature like
Prometheus, bound by racism and oppression.
Finally, a biography with the trajectory very similar to Mandela’s, is Gandhi’s history, reported in the book My Life
and My Experiences with the Truth. Both had similar traits such as admirable leadership, the struggle for rights,
and commitment.
In addition, both faced hateful enemies, but Gandhi diverged from Mandela for supporting nonviolence.

Okay, but how can I apply this in my life?

Throughout Mandela's biography, he indirectly presents us with various ways of seeing the obstacles and how to
exert a effective leadership.
Based on his speeches and his actions throughout life, Mandela demonstrates that we must keep our adversaries
close to us, and that courage is much more than just lack of fear.
Gathering the two lessons of Mandela as a leader, we have:

● You have to give autonomy at the right time. During meetings, Mandela was always the last to speak. He
summed up everyone's opinion and matched their ideas, directing everyone to a desired goal.

● The purpose need not only be in you, it is necessary to think how actions affect others in all fields.

Finally, Mandela leaves a legacy that he was a man of gestures and proves to you that characteristics such as
hope, commitment and determination are essential to win, even in an uneven world and when you are in prison.

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