Nelson Mandela was known as a world leader for his role in fighting apartheid and being the first multi-racial president of South Africa. His presidency created a significant change in the perception and building of a multiracial society in South Africa and around the world. Nelson Mandela was also known to be a leader of a civil rights organization known as the African National Congress. The purpose of the African National Congress was to demolish racial segregation and discrimination. The two most significant social changes made by Nelson Mandela was his uniting of a fiercely divided country and his creation of a truly democratic society in South Africa. A great leader will always fight for what they believe in. Nelson Mandela's dream was building a society in which all South Africans could live in freedom and prosperity. He wanted a free, non-racial, and non-sexist society for all South Africans. In Mandela’s early years he was raised by the Thembu tribe located on South Africa’s southeastern coast. He wanted to escape the Thembu traditions of marrying a woman of his regent’s choice so he fled to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, Mandela was able to find work at a Jewish law firm in 1942. His entry level position encouraged him to obtain a bachelor’s degree in law. Through this law firm, Mandela was introduced to many different ideas, communists, politicians, and the African National Congress.
During this time, South Africa was ruled by a white government which believed in racial segregation and discrimination. “The government passed a series of sweeping laws that transformed from custom into law the system of racial segregation. In addition to requiring all of South Africa’s racial groups to live in separate, designated areas, the laws prohibited marriage between people of different races, mandated that all South Africans to be registered according to their race, and outlawed the communist party in terms so broad that almost anyone could be considered a member. “(Biography Reference Bank 2009) Mandela was a colored man himself. The fact that his the color of his skin inhibited him from having the same rights as those who were not colored encouraged him to protest for his and his people’s rights. Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944 in attempt to bring down South Africa’s white supremacy government in a non-violent manner. After multiple attempts, the government was fighting back with violence. Nelson Mandela decided violence might be needed to show the government he was not backing down and serious about his fight for liberation. His fight ended shortly when the government arrested him for allowing workers to strike and leave the country without proper documentation. During his imprisonment, the government raided the ANC’s headquarters and found evidence that the ANC was trying to start a guerilla warfare in South Africa. For this crime, Nelson Mandela and his team were sentenced to life in prison in 1964. This news spread wildly through the media and encouraged human right activists to speak up. Nelson Mandela served twenty eight years, but during his confinement he was sent to multiple prison facilities. In 1982, he was sent to Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison. At this prison he was able to have secret talks with government officials. Outside of the prison, younger black South Africans were protesting and criticizing the government’s policies for their injustice. Many of them were protesting for Mandela’s freedom. The government quickly began to realize they were going to have to reason with the growing confrontational black majority. “On February 2, 1990 South African President De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC as well as on other opposition organizations, declaring “The time for negotiations has arrived”. The following week he told Mandela that his release was imminent.” (Biography Reference Bank 2009) Nelson Mandela was finally a free man, but his fight for his people’s freedom was not over.
Mandela and De Klerk worked to establish a nonracial and democratic society. The minority races were granted the right to vote. In 1993, Nelson Mandela was elected the first multi-racial president of South Africa. During his term, he created a new constitution of law that declared majority rule and South Africa became racially united. Every race was granted their human rights in South Africa thanks to the hard work and struggles of Nelson Mandela, and his work was recognized nationally. Nelson Mandela later worked on economic improvement within South Africa and focused on issues such as poverty and AIDS.
Racial segregation and discrimination was also occurring in other parts of the world besides South Africa. Martin Luther King Jr. was a colored pastor from Montgomery, Alabama who shared a similar vision as Nelson Mandela. Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision that he could live in a world where race did not affect how others treated you and or how you lived your life. The two most significant political changes made by Martin Luther King Jr. were the abolishment of racial segregation and the granting of civil rights and equality for Negroes.
Martin Luther King Jr. started a revolution in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in change. He wanted to put an end to the Jim Crow laws which gave Negroes economic, educational, and social disadvantages. These laws made white people more superior than the blacks. Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice was heard when he chose to boycott these laws after a woman by the name of Rosa Parks was arrested because she refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man in 1955. The boycott lasted for 13 months, and during this time Martin had been arrested and had his home set on fire. The boycott ended when the United States Supreme Court declared the Jim Crow laws unconstitutional, thus ending segregation.
Schools, restaurants, busses, and many other places of socialization were being racially integrated. African Americans were more accepting of this change, but some Caucasians and authorities were having a hard time adjusting. African Americans were still being tormented and targets of violence. Martin Luther King Jr. decided the best way to approach them was with non-violent resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. led many movements and protested for fairness and equality. “The march in Washington for freedom and equality was King’s most famous protest. A quarter of a million Americans from many different racial backgrounds marched on the nation’s capital to demand an end to racial segregation legislation to ensure racial equality and protection for civil rights works from police brutality. It was at this demonstration that King gave his historic speech, “I have a dream”. (Stanton 2007) In the speech, Martin Luther King Jr. stressed the fact that humans should be treated like humans regardless of the color of their skin. This famous speech started a movement towards equality for all humans. This speech later led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act outlawed discrimination based on race, sex, gender, national origin, and religion. It ended unequal application of voter rights requirements, and racial segregation in the workplace, schools, and facilities that serve the general public. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted equality to Negroes and other minorities and gave them the freedoms that they deserved. The treatment Negroes suffered was unconstitutional. King's appeal to the goodness in Americans and the struggle for black liberation in South Africa led by Nelson Mandela made them the historical leaders they are today.

References
Biography Reference Bank (2009) Nelson Mandela. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.wguproxy.egloballibrary.com/ehost/detail?sid=9524e757-1279-48b-b2eb46a47e98a5d4%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=brb&AN=203044194
Stanton, John. (2007) The Greats: Episode 1. World Wide Entertain