Summary:

Twenty manga-style pages trace Nelson Mandela’s life and the collective struggle that transformed South Africa.
Page 1 of 20: Nelson Mandela: The Long Work of Freedom. Illustrated cover showing Nelson Mandela and a voting queue, connecting his life to the shared work of democracy. Nelson Mandela The Long Work of Freedom Page 2 of 20: A Childhood in the Eastern Cape. Young Mandela grows up in the Eastern Cape and attends a village school. Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, South Africa. He grew up in the Eastern Cape. At school, his teacher gave him the English name Nelson. His life would cross many worlds. Page 3 of 20: A Wider World. Mandela moves from student life at Fort Hare to Johannesburg in 1941. At Fort Hare, Mandela joined a student protest and was expelled. In 1941, he moved to Johannesburg. There, work and study brought new friendships. The city also revealed the daily weight of racial injustice. Page 4 of 20: Learning to Organize. Mandela and fellow ANC organizers develop a collective campaign for political rights. Mandela became involved in the African National Congress, or ANC. In 1944, he helped establish its Youth League. With fellow organizers, he pushed for stronger action against racial discrimination. Change would require a movement, not one person. Page 5 of 20: A System of Injustice. Apartheid restricts movement, residence and equal participation in public life. Racial oppression already shaped South Africa. After 1948, the government expanded apartheid into an increasingly rigid system. Laws separated people by race and controlled where they could live. The white minority held power while most South Africans were denied equal rights. Page 6 of 20: The Law Office. Mandela and Oliver Tambo assist clients in their Johannesburg law office. In 1952, Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened a law firm in Johannesburg. Black clients came seeking help in an unequal legal system. The work showed how large political rules could shape the smallest details of ordinary lives. Page 7 of 20: Defiance Together. Multiracial volunteers participate in the 1952 Defiance Campaign against discriminatory laws. The 1952 Defiance Campaign challenged unjust laws through organized civil disobedience. Mandela served as its National Volunteer-in-Chief. The ANC and South African Indian Congress worked together. Volunteers risked arrest by refusing to obey discriminatory rules. Page 8 of 20: A Charter and a Trial. The Freedom Charter and the long Treason Trial mark two stages of the anti-apartheid struggle. In 1955, the Freedom Charter set out a vision of a South Africa belonging to all its people. Mandela and many others later faced treason charges. After a long trial, the remaining defendants were acquitted in 1961. Page 9 of 20: Sharpeville. A restrained illustration recalls Sharpeville and the banning of opposition organizations in 1960. In March 1960, police killed 69 people at an anti-pass protest in Sharpeville. The shock reached far beyond South Africa. The government then banned the ANC and other opposition organizations. Paths for open political action narrowed sharply. Page 10 of 20: A Difficult Turn. Mandela and colleagues confront the decision to adopt armed resistance in 1961. In 1961, Mandela helped establish Umkhonto we Sizwe, known as MK, and became its commander. The struggle now included armed resistance. Its early campaign used sabotage. This was a consequential turn, shaped by repression, not a simple story of peaceful protest alone. Page 11 of 20: The Rivonia Trial. Mandela faces arrest in 1962 and a life sentence with fellow Rivonia defendants in 1964. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years in prison. Further charges followed in the Rivonia Trial. On June 12, 1964, Mandela and seven others received life sentences. Their future would be measured behind prison walls. Page 12 of 20: Robben Island. Mandela and fellow prisoners work, study and sustain one another on Robben Island. On Robben Island, Mandela endured hard labor and harsh restrictions. Prisoners also taught one another, debated politics and built bonds of solidarity. He spent 18 years there. Robben Island was one part of his much longer imprisonment. Page 13 of 20: The Years Apart. Family separation and continued study mark Mandela’s years in prison. Imprisonment separated Mandela from his family for years. He was not allowed to attend the funerals of his mother or eldest son. He kept studying. Later held at Pollsmoor and Victor Verster, he completed his law degree in 1989. Page 14 of 20: A Movement Beyond the Walls. Domestic organizing, international solidarity and preliminary talks pressure the apartheid system. Outside prison, communities, workers and activists kept resisting apartheid. Supporters abroad pressed for sanctions and change. Mandela became a worldwide symbol, but the struggle belonged to many. During the 1980s, he also began talks with government representatives. Page 15 of 20: February 11, 1990. Nelson and Winnie Mandela walk from Victor Verster Prison on February 11, 1990. On February 11, 1990, Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Prison beside Winnie Mandela. He had spent 27 years imprisoned. His release brought enormous hope. Apartheid had not yet ended, and a democratic future still had to be negotiated. Page 16 of 20: Negotiating Through Danger. Difficult negotiations continue amid violence, followed by the shared Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Negotiations unfolded amid deadly political violence. Mandela and other leaders faced setbacks while working toward democratic elections. In 1993, he and President F. W. de Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward ending apartheid and establishing democracy. Page 17 of 20: A Vote, a New Beginning. South Africans vote in 1994, and Mandela is inaugurated as president on May 10. In April 1994, South Africans voted in their first national democratic election open to all races. Millions helped choose a new government. On May 10, Mandela became president. The former prisoner now led a Government of National Unity. Page 18 of 20: Building More Than a Victory. Constitutional rights, truth hearings and basic services advance while inequality remains. Mandela signed the new Constitution in 1996. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard accounts of abuses and considered conditional amnesty. Housing and basic services expanded, but poverty and inequality persisted. Political freedom began a transformation; it did not complete it. Page 19 of 20: One Term, Continuing Service. After one term, Mandela continues charitable work and HIV/AIDS advocacy. Mandela stepped down in 1999 after one presidential term. He continued supporting children and later became an outspoken advocate against HIV/AIDS stigma. Public office had ended, but service continued. His work reached beyond the presidency and beyond South Africa. Page 20 of 20: The Work Continues. Mandela’s life closes, while a symbolic community scene looks toward the continuing work of equality. Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013, aged 95. People around the world remembered his struggle for dignity and freedom. His story includes courage, difficult choices and collective effort. The work of building a fair society belongs to each generation.

Behind the panels

This illustrated biography uses reconstructed scenes and original narration. The cover and closing community scene are symbolic compositions.

Mandela was one leader in a broad struggle involving communities, workers, political organizations and international supporters. The 1960 Sharpeville protest was organized by the Pan Africanist Congress.

The 1962 five-year sentence and the 1964 Rivonia life sentence were separate. Of Mandela’s 27 years in prison, 18 were spent on Robben Island; he was released from Victor Verster.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission considered amnesty under legal conditions, including full disclosure of politically motivated acts. Constitutional democracy and expanded basic services did not eliminate poverty or inequality.

Sources

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Discover another life shaped by community action in Wangari Maathai: Seeds of Courage, or follow a different struggle against oppression in Harriet Tubman: The Work of Freedom.