No Easy Walk to Freedom

No Easy Walk to Freedom

• Genre: Nonfiction; biographical collection
• Originally Published: 1965 by Heinemann Educational Books; 2002 by Penguin Books with Introduction by Ato Quayson and Foreword by Oliver Tambo
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: 5 parts; 15 chapters; approx. 170 pages
• Central Concern: This collection of speeches, letters, and writings by Nelson Mandela spans from 1953 to 1963 and chronicles his ideas from that time on the fight for human rights. Originally published near the beginning of Mandela’s lengthy prison sentence, the collection conveys the political thought of a widely esteemed figure who became president of South Africa and a leading representative of democracy.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Apartheid; racial conflict and struggle; violence; imprisonment

Nelson Mandela, Author

• Bio: 1918-2013; fought for civil rights by resisting apartheid policies; key figure in the African National Congress; imprisoned in 1963 for a total of 27 years; released in 1990; inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994
• Other Works: Conversations with Myself (a collection of personal papers; 2010); Long Walk to Freedom (an autobiography ghostwritten by Richard Stengel; 1994)
• Awards: UNESCO Peace Prize (1992); the Nobel Peace Prize (1993); Africa Peace Award (1995); many additional honors and awards

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Mass Mobilization and Unity
• Shifts in Strategies and Tactics
• The ANC’s Relationship to Other Political Parties

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Connect the history of the South African struggle against apartheid to contemporary global struggles against social injustices to aid in contextualizing Mandela’s efforts.
• Identify the Mass Mobilization strategy, the principles of unity and solidarity that undergirded it, and the tactics that were used to implement the strategy as discussed in Mandela’s writings.
• Articulate the ANC’s Relationship to Other Political Parties and how those relationships connect to themes of Mass Mobilization and Shifts, as well as what the relationships indicate about the ANC’s objectives and ideals.
• Discuss the link between socialism and antiracism and how it connects to the ANC’s Relationship to Other Political Parties, especially the Communist Party.
• Understand Mandela’s personal political views and influences as brought out in his writings, as well as his legacy in South Africa and globally.