Nelson Mandela

Today Ms. Hoffman got to visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. This was a special place where she learned a lot about the history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela. Have you heard of Nelson Mandela?

Nelson Mandela can be compared to Martin Luther King Jr. in the USA. There are a little bit alike. They are both leaders who fought peacefully for the rights of people with black skin in their communities. In South America, there were problems a bit like the USA. People with black skin and people with white skin were not treated equally in the law. They had to be separated and black people were not treated as well as white people. In Africa, this system was called apartheid. Nelson Mandela was a great leader who spoke out for all people to be equal. In the 1960s, he was sentenced to life in prison - he had to go to jail for the rest of his life. Luckily, his country changed and started to get better. He was released from prion in the 1990s. He continued to work to make South Africa a more equal place. In 1994, he was elected as the first black president of his country. He helped to write a new constitution which guaranteed equality for all people. Click here to see that constitution. Today, only 20 years later, the country is a much more equal place.

Are there any other great leaders you can think of? Anyone who fought for equal rights in your country?