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VOLUME 45 |
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Please visit our website at www.themarkofaleader.com |
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FEATURE
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 Ask yourself a question.Do you have any goals so big that you'd be willing to give up your own freedom to achieve them? Here's a story about someone who made that kind of choice willingly, and who eventually won... changing his world for the better. South Africa, 1961. A society sharply divided along racial lines, governed by the all-white National Party and its policy of apartheid (racial segregation). One day in March that year, a crowd gathered in the town of Sharpeville. Many were members of the African National Congress (ANC) --- a political organization founded on the vision of a democratic, multi-racial South Africa. They were there to protest the “pass laws”, which defined where and when blacks were permitted to travel. 
Suddenly, the situation turned violent. Police began to fire wildly on the crowd, and 69 people were killed... most of them from bullet wounds in the back.The government immediately declared a state of emergency, banned the ANC and put out warrants for its leaders. 
For Nelson Mandela, a young black lawyer from Johannesburg and one of the people named in those warrants, it was a turning point. For years he and the ANC had fought for the rights of the disenfranchised black majority in South Africa. And they had always restricted themselves to non-violent means to advance the cause. But after Sharpeville, Mandela became convinced that non-violent protest would never achieve what they were after. The only answer was armed struggle. He decided the ANC should focus on sabotage – creating maximum damage to government offices, courts and physical symbols of the apartheid regime, while avoiding human targets. He secretly left the country for a time, to seek military training for his operatives and international support for his cause. But he was captured upon his return to South Africa... charged with sabotage and attempting to violently overthrow the government. In his statement at the trial, Mandela made his total commitment to the cause absolutely clear: 
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.He and several others were sentenced to life in prison, and sent to Robben Island, 7 miles off Cape Town. For the next 18 years, this isolated facility would be Mandela's entire world. His years on Robben Island were spent in hard labour at a lime quarry. He was allowed only one visitor and one letter every six months... and that letter would often be unreadable, by the time the prison censors got through with it. He was not allowed to attend the funerals of his mother or a son. 
All of this was intended to break his determination, and eliminate his influence... but it actually had the opposite effect. Instead of disappearing from view, Mandela became a prison-bound martyr and worldwide symbol of resistance to racism. His reputation grew steadily, and the world began to pay attention. During the 1970's and 80's, South Africa continued to experience increasing social upheaval. The 1976 Soweto uprising began as a student protest against language laws. But when it ended 8 months later, the government had killed 575 people – many of them under 18 years old. A State of Emergency was declared. Violence rose on both sides, particularly in the townships. 
In February 1985 President P.W. Botha offered to release Mandela... if he would renounce armed struggle. Now, think about this: he had now spent 23 of his 67 years in prison. He knew he might never get another chance for release. And yet he refused the deal. Why? I think it might be because he knew that if he took it, he'd be abandoning his people's only hope for change in South Africa. And he simply could not do that. He said "What freedom am I being offered, while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts." And he returned to his cell. 
By 1989, South Africa was an international pariah state, reeling under a series of international sanctions and embargoes. But in that year a new leader named F.W. de Klerk took the reins, and things began to change – quickly. De Klerk could see that the era of apartheid was over. As one of his first actions he reversed the ban on the ANC, and after 28 years in prison Nelson Mandela walked free -- an event that was broadcast all over the world. 
Over the next 4 years South Africa continued to be wracked by violence. Mandela played a major role in the tense, multi-party negotiations which eventually paved the way for the country's first multi-racial elections. The pivotal roles of Mandela and de Klerk in bringing these talks to fruition resulted in them being jointly awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. Finally, on the 27th of April, 1994, South Africa held the first open, multi-racial election in its history, and elected Nelson Mandela, 75 years of age, as its first black President. For the next five years he presided over his country's transition to a full multi-racial democracy, winning international respect for his focus on reconciliation. 
Today, Nelson Mandela is a legendary figure, one of the most respected and beloved people alive... because he stood up for what he believed was right. What about you? Where do you draw the line? What would you do... or refuse to do... or be willing to get fired for? In an increasingly competitive and self-centered workforce, this is the question that defines corporate values. It's also the question that defines the character of leaders. So... what would you give up, to achieve what you think is right? |
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Please visit us at www.themarkofaleader.com. Copyright 2009 Mark of a Leader |
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