What makes a leader great, and when exactly does the transformation take place? In this lesson students and teachers can follow the evolution of Nelson Mandela in archival articles from The New York Times, from his early years as a jailed dissident in apartheid South Africa to his death last week at the age of 95.
You may wish to begin by reading Mr. Mandela’s obituary or this interactive timeline. Then explore each era from Nelson Mandela’s life below, reading the original news articles filed by Times reporters in South Africa. Take notes on your impressions of Mr. Mandela during different time periods or events, and consider the ways in which early articles differ from those written near the end of his life. Evaluate crucial decisions and decide which chapters of his life served as critical turning points. Or take on the role of historian, making your own case for which perspectives represent the true Mandela. For additional teaching ideas for how to use the resources included below, go to the bottom of this post.
1950s and ‘60s: Rebel in the Shadows
“I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage,” Mr. Mandela said at the so-called Rivonia Trial in 1964. “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.”
In 1964, Mr. Mandela, a 46-year-old lawyer, had already been fighting for more than two decades against the system of race-based laws that would come to be known as apartheid. Speaking for more than four hours at his trial on charges of sabotage and attempted overthrow of the government, he admitted his guilt under laws he declared to be immoral. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Read the 1964 coverage of that trial, “Crisis in South Africa” (PDF), by the Times reporter Robert Conley, and a 1966 article by Joseph Lelyveld on daily life under apartheid, “Where 78% of the People are the ‘Others’” (PDF). You may wish to do some further research on Mr. Mandela’s early life and experiences as an anti-apartheid activist, or listen to this radio diary on events leading up to the Rivonia Trial. What prompted a talented man with bright prospects and a commitment to nonviolence to risk everything by trying to bring down his country’s government? Using evidence and quotations from the articles you have read, make the case to explain how and why Mr. Mandela became a rebel in South Africa.
1970s and ‘80s: Prisoner
‘”He feels he has been on the right track all along,” said Makgatho Mandela, a son of Nelson Mandela. ”His whole purpose in life is the struggle for a free, democratic united South Africa. So he does not regret anything.’”
By the late 1970s, Nelson Mandela had already passed his 60th birthday in prison (PDF). As the Times reporter John F. Burns wrote in the article“Soweto’s Blacks No Longer Accept their ‘Uncle Toms’” (PDF), some younger South Africans were suggesting that he and other leaders from the 1960s were no longer relevant. But family members wrote of his struggle (PDF) and helped him remain connected to the outside world. And many people in South Africa and elsewhere said they continued to feel inspired by his imprisonment to fight against the apartheid system.
By the 1980s, the anti-apartheid movement was drawing increasing international attention. Artists designed posters to raise support for sanctions against the apartheid government, athletes were pressured to avoid the country, and pop stars wrote songs about Mr. Mandela, occasionally facing arrest for performing them in the country.
“Free Nelson Mandela” by The Specials
What was the effect of Mr. Mandela’s imprisonment on the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa? Are there ways in which he was able to keep leading the movement from behind bars, and do you think the country’s history might have been different if he had avoided prison? Explain how his years behind bars may have contributed to his ultimate success and the largely peaceful resolution of apartheid.
Early 1990s: Peacemaker
“My friends, comrades and fellow South Africans, I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”
It was a moment that many people thought would never come. On Feb. 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man. Less than a year later, the government led by F.W. de Klerk, the white president of South Africa, was taking steps to dismantle apartheid. Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Klerk, who would jointly win the Nobel Peace Prize, showed the world that it was possible for bitter enemies to set aside their differences and compromise for the common good. But it was far from easy.
How did Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Klerk manage to short-circuit a conflict between whites and blacks that many feared would end in civil war? And which groups in South Africa did they need to placate in order to resolve the national conflict over apartheid? Read the article “Mandela to Go Free Today” and a transcript of Mr. de Klerk’s news conference. Then watch a video in which Mr. Burns, the Times reporter, describes the tensions at Mr. Mandela’s first news conference as a free man, and read a transcript of Mr. Mandela’s first speech to the nation. Write a chart or analysis in which you describe how each man did his part to move their nation beyond conflict.
1990s and 2000s: The Challenge of Governing
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion,” Mr. Mandela wrote in his 1994 autobiography. “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
From the moment he was released from prison, Nelson Mandela was under pressure to end the violence — not only between whites and blacks, but also between rival black groups in South Africa. But that was only the first task on his list after being elected the country’s first black president in 1994. Mr. Mandela faced a mountain of high expectations to reduce poverty, increase public services and improve the quality of life for impoverished South Africans. He included whites and blacks in his government, and promised to pardon those accused of committing crimes during the apartheid years, provided that they testified before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Some of his former enemies resisted the offer as others plotted revenge. But he won the hearts of many white South Africans by embracing the national rugby team, which had been widely viewed as a symbol of apartheid.
Read the coverage of Mr. Mandela’s last State of the Nation speech in 1999 and list the achievements and failures of his single term as president of South Africa. Did Mr. Mandela seem to be as successful in running the country as he was at leading the resistance against apartheid?
Looking Back: A Man and His Country
“It is never my custom to use words lightly,” Mr. Mandela said in 2000 at the 13th International AIDS Conference. “If 27 years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.”
In the years after his presidency, Mr. Mandela tried to step back from daily politics, but he found himself drawn into the debate over fighting AIDS in a country where many considered the subject taboo. The death of one of his sons from the disease in 2005 only increased Mr. Mandela’s efforts, and he later said that he should have done more as president.
Since that time, Nelson Mandela’s legacy has cast a long shadow over South Africa. Can the country and its leaders ever live up to the promise of their emergence from apartheid? Read the tributes pouring in from foreign leaders and Times readers, browse front pages from newspapers around the world and watch a video on reactions to his death by people in the sprawling Soweto township outside Johannesburg. Then consider more critical judgments in this news article, “For Mandela, Reverence, But Criticism, Too.” Which tributes or criticisms seem off base, and which ones ring true compared to past news coverage of Mr. Mandela? How will Mr. Mandela be remembered by the “born free” generation of students in this video that never knew life under apartheid?
Going Further
Did sports help to set Mr. Mandela free and end apartheid? Read about his athletic background and how his support for the international boycott against sporting events in South Africa put pressure on the government to reform. Then do further research on the sports boycott and decide whether it was effective. “I wanted to make sure our people know how much I appreciated the sacrifices made by our athletes during the many years of the boycott,” Mr. Mandela said in 1994. “I have no doubt I became president today sooner than I would have had they not made those sacrifices.”
Did he write and talk his way to greatness? Few recent historical figures have proven to be as quotable as Nelson Mandela. Consider this collection of memorable speeches from career, marking favorites or taking notes on the ways in which his words evolved over the course of his public life. Then make the case for which speaks loudest: Nelson Mandela’s words or his actions.
Was he a Communist? In an Op-Ed article, the columnist Bill Keller writes about revelations that Nelson Mandela may once have joined the Communist Party. Does it matter? Through the Cold War years, conservatives in the United States maintained that Mr. Mandela’s African National Congress party was being manipulated by the Soviet Union. Does this seem persuasive, or do you support the view that Communists in South Africa helped maintain the multiracial character of the anti-apartheid movement?
Did Nelson Mandela help democracy to spread? John Dramani Mahama, the president of Ghana, was 5 years old when Mr. Mandela went to prison. He says Africans took note of the reconciliation-oriented course that South Africa followed after apartheid, and charted a similar path. Does the evidence support such a statement? Look for examples of Mr. Mandela’s peacekeeping efforts in Africa, and decide whether his leadership made a difference on the continent.
Did he inspire others to fight injustice? It is not just South Africans who were moved to action by Nelson Mandela’s example. In this 2010 Op-Ed feature, seven former political prisoners from around the world reflected on how Mr. Mandela’s release from prison helped them to survive their own incarceration. What specific lessons did they learn, and how did they apply them in their own countries?
Additional Teaching Ideas
Teaching about Nelson Mandela’s life may seem overwhelming, so we offer various ways teachers can use the many resources listed above.
Jigsaw Research: In a jigsaw, students work in separate small groups researching different parts of Mr. Mandela’s life. For example, one group can research his early life, while another group researches his prison years. Then, new groups can be formed with one member from each research group, with individual students reporting back about what they learned in their original research groups. Alternatively, small groups can report back to the whole class or even assemble a museum-style classroom exhibition.
Gallery Walk: In this activity, the classroom becomes a gallery exhibit detailing the various parts of Mr. Mandela’s life using photographs, speeches, articles, posters, and even videos and music. The “gallery” can be assembled by the teacher, or by students working in jigsaw research groups. You may want to post chart paper on the wall for each important stage in Mr. Mandela’s life as well, so students can write their reactions to what they learned and read what their peers have to say. You can also give students a handout with questions to answer and discuss, including the questions embedded in the narrative above about Mr. Mandela’s life.
WebQuest: The above overview of Mr. Mandela’s life, linked to Times resources, can be used as a WebQuest, where students work in pairs or small groups to complete a task. Possible tasks include designing a memorial, writing a eulogy, creating a museum exhibit, assembling a slide show or composing historical diary entries.
Other Resources
The New York Times Special Section | Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013
Mandela: An Audio History
PBS Frontline | The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela
The Nobel Peace Prize 1993
The Nelson Mandela Foundation | The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela
“Tree Shaker: The Story of Nelson Mandela” by Bill Keller
Standards
This resource may be used to address the academic standards listed below.
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Common Core E.L.A. Anchor Standards
Reading
1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
McREL Standards and Resources
World History
45 Understands major global trends since World War II World History Across the Eras.
46 Understands long-term changes and recurring patterns in world history.
