The document describes key events in Nelson Mandela's life that demonstrated courage. It discusses how as a child in South Africa in the 1920s, Mandela decided to attend school, which was courageous given the challenges black South Africans faced at the time. In the 1950s, Mandela became president of the ANC which fought against apartheid, and was imprisoned from 1963-1990 for his activism against racial segregation policies. Despite hardships in prison, Mandela's determination and vision for a non-racial democratic South Africa never wavered.