Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the centre of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's antiapartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force …show more content…
Whilst working at the law firm Mandela met Guar Radebe, a prominent member of the ANC and Communist party. Nelson Mandela, Radebe and other men involved in South African politics helped to change Mandela's political beliefs. Radebe believed that the ANC was 'the vehicle for freedom for black Africans'. ANC meetings were "lively with debate and discussion about Parliament, the press laws, rents, bus fares, etc". They set themselves the formidable task of transforming the African National Congress (ANC) into a mass movement. And in April 1944 they came together and found the African National Congress Youth League, their goal - to achieve true democracy in the whole African continent. In 1943 Mandela joined the Alexandra bus boycott against increasing bus fares. This was a turning point in Mandela's life as he found the experience, to be exhilarating and inspiring. It influenced Mandela into deciding against returning to Umata, his home in Transkei, stating, "I was beginning to see that my duty was to my people as a …show more content…
During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom. The whole of Africa knew his name, this gave the ANC world recognition and even while in prison, Mandela continued to be a beacon of hope for his people who carried on the struggle against Apartheid in his absence. And remain consistent when released in February 1990 in continuing his fight for the black Africans freedom. This was Mandela?s greatest moment in his fight for freedom, as it was Mandela?s imprisonment, which led to Mandela becoming a worldwide political icon as he was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength.
As a précis, it was the combination of Mandela?s imprisonment in addition to many of the other stated turning events of Mandela?s life. Which led to the overall, final most significant turning point