A metallic chatter rose from hundreds of cameras as Nelson Mandela walked toward the gates of Victor Verster Prison in South Africa. Mandela had been told to expect a large crowd, but he was still startled by what he saw. Outside the gates thousands of supporters waited along with reporters and television crews. Freedom was just 50 feet away. Mandela moved forward, but each step seemed to take him back.

Mandela had been imprisoned for more than 27 years. Like all black South Africans, he had lived with discrimination his entire life. South Africa’s white minority ruled the country, though they were only 25 percent of the population. The government of South Africa felt that white and black citizens should be kept apart. Mandela had attended black-only schools, lived in black-only communities, and traveled on black-only buses and trains. He had never been allowed to vote. As a young man Mandela had joined the African National Congress (ANC), an organization that fought for the rights of black South Africans. Being a knowledgeable attorney, he soon became one of the ANC’s leaders.

When Mandela was 30 years old, the white-controlled National Party won control of the South African government. Though South Africa had been racially segregated for years, the National Party began to further limit the rights of black citizens. A new policy of apartheid (“apartness”) was adopted. Laws were created to ensure that South Africa’s wealth and power remained under white control. These laws classified all citizens by race and outlawed marriages between different races. They also specified where blacks could live and which jobs they were allowed to have. Black South Africans had to carry identification passbooks at all times.

The ANC protested these laws by calling for strikes. South Africa depended greatly on the labor of its black citizens, and ANC leaders hoped that by refusing to work, blacks could force a change in the laws. The government, however, forcefully crushed the protests. Black organizations, including the ANC, were banned, and future protests were prohibited. When Mandela continued to organize protests, he was arrested, convicted of treason, and sentenced to life in prison.

In prison Mandela continued the struggle. As more people learned about apartheid, the South African government faced increasing criticism. Most foreign governments refused to trade with South Africa until its laws were changed. The South African government eventually offered to release Mandela if he agreed not to organize protests, but Mandela refused. Opposition continued to grow until 1989, when South African president F. W. de Klerk revoked the oppressive laws and began to end apartheid. He also granted political prisoners, including Mandela, their unconditional release.

Now just seconds from freedom, Mandela’s thoughts were crowded with memories of his long struggle. He remembered the victories and the defeats and the friends of all races he had made—he had even made friends with some of his guards. To honor the wisdom of age and experience, his people had a saying: I have crossed famous rivers. Mandela’s spirit swelled as he crossed into freedom and thrust his fist upward. The roar of the crowd was deafening.

Nelson Mandela’s release was a significant event that marked the end of the apartheid in South Africa. Mandela was elected president of South Africa four years later.