Nelson Mandela as leader

1. 1
Remedy of Apartheid Use by Nelson Mandela
Student’s Name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date

2. 2
Apartheid, which the Afrikaans termed “apartness, " was considered a legislation system
that fostered segregationist policies against non-white citizens in South Africa. A white
government enforced existing policies toward racial segregation immediately after the National
Party got into power in South Africa in 1948. In the same period, Mandela had signed in for Wits
University law classes, marking him as the first Black law student to join African National
Congress. At this time, the Black South Africans forcefully lived in all-Black regions, restricted
from engaging in interracial relationships, removed from voter rolls, and disenfranchised. Below
are details of some of the remedies implemented by Nelson Mandela to combat apartheid that
reigned in South Africa during the period and some of the leadership and management skills that
could be learned through them.
To start with, with the help of his colleagues from the African National Congress (ANC),
Nelson Mandela used nonviolent strategies like peaceful demonstrations and strikes to protest
against apartheid. As the founder of the Defiance Campaign, which urged Black volunteers to
break the law deliberately, Mandela contributed to the escalation of the fight in 1952 (Vinson &
Carton, 2018). Mandela was one of more than 8,000 individuals imprisoned for breaking
curfews, refusing to carry identity cards, and other minor offenses. Defiance Campaign
mechanism magnified the ANC about apartheid to Mandela and other Black South Africans who
felt marginalized in South Africa during the period. Mandela and the rest of the Blacks pursued
their rights. He achieved this by leading rallies against the government even after completing his
sentence, where he and 155 other Black people were convicted of treason. Due to this, Nelson
spent 17 months living in hiding before being acquitted in 1961. With this scenario, Mandela
conveyed the benefits that could befall a leadership system that implements a transformational

3. 3
leadership style. Mandela was an influential leader who elevated the consciousness of the Black
South Africans by appealing to their higher values and encouraging them to be educated.
With time, Mandela concluded that military resistance could have been the best strategy
for overcoming apartheid. He briefly left the nation in 1962 to obtain military training and garner
support for the cause, but soon after his return, he was detained and found guilty of illegally
leaving the country. Police later discovered documents about Mandela's guerrilla warfare
strategy when imprisoned. They accused him of sabotage along with his accomplices (Graham &
Fevre, 2021). Nonetheless, this was not news as Mandela and supporters in the Rivonia Trial
were fully aware that they would be convicted and supposedly executed (Landau, 2019). In this
way, they shifted their show trials into a legal statement that publicized their motive of shunning
apartheid which oppressed Blacks for existing in South Africa. In his speech, Mandela
acknowledged the lack of human dignity, thus portraying empowering leaders' effect on their
teams. In his speeches, he organized resistance to discriminatory legislation and loyally fought
for the rights of his followers, the Black South Africans.
In conclusion, efforts channeled by Nelson Mandela to marginalize apartheid in South
Africa are appraisable. Mandela strategized measures that some put his life at stake to ensure that
the Blacks in South Africa get the chance to be equally considered just as the Whites. This is
evident by his moves to join alliances with African National Congress members to magnify
protests, demonstrations and strikes he organized against apartheid. The context of apartheid is
depicted as big as it also drives Mandela into seeking help from the military. These aspects
jointly outlay the impact that translational leaders who empower their teams have in a societal
setting.

4. 4
References
Graham, M., & Fevre, C. (2021). ‘Mandela’s out so apartheid has finished’: the British Anti-
Apartheid Movement and South Africa’s transition to majority rule, 1990-
1994. Contemporary British History, 1-32.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2021.1976154
Landau, P. S. (2019). The M-Plan: Mandela’s Struggle to Reorient the African National
Congress. Journal of Southern African Studies, 45(6), 1073-1091.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2020.1700663
Vinson, R. T., & Carton, B. (2018). Albert Luthuli's private struggle: how an icon of peace came
to accept sabotage in South Africa. The Journal of African History, 59(1), 69-96.