An Illustrated Autobiography
Nelson Mandala started writing his story while in prison. Manuscripts were hidden and later smuggled to the UK. They formed the basis for much of this 1994 book.
Politics is hard on family life, especially with an outlawed politics. Mandela was given a choice to abandon most of his political mission to settle down with a small law practice and raise his first family. He chose politics.
Eventually, Mandala found his first time in prison. He wrote:
We were then escorted to large cells with cement floors and no furniture. The cells had recently been painted and reeked of paint fumes. We were each given three thin blankets and a sisal mat. Each cell had only one floor level latrine, which was completely exposed.
With other context, I gathered that there were at least 20 other men in this cell. They stayed in this state for 14 days. His next short-term prison sentence had worse conditions, with only a hole in the floor for a toilet.
Mandala did not explicitly say so, but his oppressors were sending a direct message: stop your opposition to apartheid!
In his activism days, Mandela was a consummate political player. As one of several leaders in the African National Congress (ANC), he was in constant physical movement in this movement, trying to confuse his opposition as to his location. He was also in constant political movement. There were times he had to listen to his constituency; there were times when he needed to lead. There were times he had to work with other similar organizations; there were times when he had to abandon them. Somehow his knowing of when and how to move vaulted him to the top of the anti-apartheid movement.
This book has many pictures from South Africa in those times. I often wonder if the photographers really understood they were recording history. One of the more striking photos was the 150 men who were part of Mandela’s first arrest. Cast your eye over this big crowd, and it quickly finds Nelsen Mandela. Something stands out in his posture and his eyes that says he is a leader. His commentators often said he had charisma — and this picture shows it.
Eventually, the South African government cracked down on antics of the ANC. Mandela took his 1962 arrest stoically: He was facing a sentence between life imprisonment and the death penalty. He influenced the international press and many South Africans during the trial. He became the symbol for the anti-apartheid movement.
And he was sent to prison, a sentence that lasted 27 years. The first years were hard, meaningless labor, meant to break him and his colleagues. Obviously, he did not break. As time passed, prison life became more bearable.
Mandala and his prison colleagues relinquished operations of the ANC to those members on the outside. As time passed, ANC activities became more sustainable and troublesome for the apartheid regime. Between international pressure and civil disorder, the authorities sought out Mandala to open negotiations between the white and black races.
Nelson Mandala was in a unique position. Being in prison and cut off, he was no longer active in the ANC; his influence with the active leadership was, at best, only symbolic. Yet the South African authorities regarded him easier to deal with than the current ANC leadership. Maybe they were hoping that he would be so willing to be released from prison that they could gain some concessions from him. If the “ANC symbol” made those concessions, the rest of the ANC would have to acquiesce.
Nelson Mandala compromised nothing. Apartheid was dismantled. South Africa headed for free elections.
Mandela offers this quote toward the end of this book:
I spoke from the heart. I wanted first of all to tell the people that I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.
Methinks Nelson Mandala has some extraordinary political skills. He had a lot of courage — and a lot of patience to see events unfold to their natural conclusion. Twenty-seven years in prison! An inspiration for today’s activists.
This is a great political story accompanied by many photographs. This 1994 book must be a classic. Your library can find and loan you a copy: ISBN 0–316–55038–8.
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