Who Was Nelson Mandela?

In the heart of Thembuland, in South Africa, was a grand house. The local people called it “the Great Place.” Here lived Jongintaba, who ruled as king. The Great Place was his royal home.

On this day in 1927, Jongintaba was holding a tribal meeting. The men talked about important matters. Also in the room was a young boy who had come to live at the Great Place only a short time before. He was nine years old. After the boy’s own father died, the king had adopted him.

The boy listened to the men talk and watched his foster father. The king did not speak. He listened. He thought everyone deserved a voice in his kingdom, no matter who they were. Then, when he sensed that people had said all they needed to, the king gave his opinion. This approach was very different from the way the rest of the country of South Africa was ruled.

South Africa is a country at the bottom tip of the African continent. It is almost twice the size of Texas. Once black kings had ruled South Africa. Then white settlers came from Europe. They grabbed land for themselves and took control of the country. By the late 1800s, black South Africans had no voice in the government. By the time the boy came to live with his new foster father, there were about six million people in South Africa—and about four million were black. And yet they weren’t truly citizens of their own country. They couldn’t vote. They could only live where the government allowed them to live. Even kings like Jongintaba had no real power.

As the nine-year-old watched his foster father’s meeting, he dreamed of a different South Africa, one where people of all colors had a voice. Where everyone was free and equal. When he grew up he hoped to make that happen.

The boy’s name was Nelson Mandela. One day he would change South Africa. One day he would change the world.