The Road to Freedom Hayley Tillett Senior Division Website

Process Paper I chose to do my National History Day project on Nelson Mandela because of my interest in peaceful protest, which Mandela implemented to end apartheid in South Africa. Reform can be achieved in a number of ways, many of which are violent and harmful to the people whom it affects. Over the course of history, revolution has often been used to achieve desired reforms. In many of these cases, revolution has been bloody, and the reactions to such uprisings have been ones of terror and fear. When Nelson Mandela recognized a need for reform in his country, he sought to bring about change through the use of peaceful demonstrations. The reaction from his fellow black South Africans was overwhelmingly positive, and the anti-apartheid movement grew stronger every decade until apartheid was officially ended in 1994. Mandelas work is proof that reforms can be instituted peacefully, even in the midst of harsh oppression. I conducted my research through a variety of books and many websites. I did not have the opportunity to conduct my research outside my school library and the internet, for my school is forty-five minutes away from my house, and I spend much of my free time commuting to and from school. I did, however, scour the internet to find the most complete, historically accurate accounts of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. I found a multitude of information from the most trustworthy databases and websites across the internet. I found several books in my school library on the subject, some of which Mandela wrote himself. In addition, I found myriad photos on various websites from anti-apartheid demonstrations and significant events in Mandelas struggle for racial equality. I selected the website category because I felt that a website was the best way to depict the anti-apartheid movement in its entirety. Videos, pictures, songs, timelines and text can come together in a website to completely capture a historical event for the modern audience. I created

my website by selecting the most relevant information from my research and organizing it in a way that most clearly describes the anti-apartheid movement to the viewer. I divided my website into seven categories, including three on the movements revolution, reaction and reform. This format best helps the viewer understand Mandela and the anti-apartheid movements significance in reforming South Africa. My project relates to the National History Day theme because Nelson Mandela changed South Africa through revolution, reaction, and reform. First, he recognized the need for change and started a non-violent revolution against apartheid. Black South Africans reacted positively to Mandelas call for change and joined the revolution. The revolution grew in strength to the point where the Afrikaner government had no choice but to allow South Africa to be reformed. Mandela played a key role in instituting national changes, eliminating apartheid and positively reforming South Africa.