HERO OF OUR TIME
In South Africa under the apartheid system of government if a black
person drank out of the wrong water fountain they would throw him or
her into jail. If you were black and had the very same job as your
white neighbor, you would get paid less in a year than the other man
made in a week. If you advocated equal rights for black people in the
white-dominated society of South Africa, the government would arrest
you.
But Mandela was a fighter. Instead of bowing down to this unjust system
of government, he became a lifelong warrior in the battle to free
South Africa. In Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela´s
autobiography, he recalls his first day of school, when his teacher,
Miss Mdingane, told him his new name was Nelson. That was the custom
among Africans in those days. Africans of his generation – and even
today – have both a Western and an African name. There was no such
thing as African culture.
Nelson Mandela started out as a leader of an underground political movement
against the apartheid regime. In 1956, Mandela was arrested with 150
others and accused of treason. The trial, which took several years,
ended in acquittal for everyone. But in 1962, he was arrested again
and accused of sabotage and plotting to overthrow the government. He
was sentenced to life in prison.
But imprisonment was not enough to silence Mandela. Even while in jail,
he continued to be a beacon of hope for his people to carry on the
struggle against apartheid in his absence. In 1985 the government
offered him conditional freedom. If he renounced the armed struggle
for black resistance, they would set him free. He said “no”.
International pressure for his release continued to increase and in
1990, after 27 years in prison, Mandela was freed.
His release marked the beginning of the end for apartheid. In less than 5
years after his release, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
and elected president of South Africa in the nation´s first free
elections.
Nelson Mandela is a hero to many people. Bill Clinton, former U.S.
president, wrote in a recent book about the African leader. “(...)
Many years after Mandela had been released from prison, I asked him
‘come on, you were a great man, you invited your jailers to your
inauguration as president of South Africa, you put your pressures on
the government. But tell me the truth, Weren´t you really angry all
over again?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I was angry. And I was a little
afraid. After all I´ve not been free in so long. But,’ he
said,’when I felt that anger well up inside of me I realized that
if I hated them after I got outside that gate then they would still
have me,’ And he smiled and said, ‘I wanted to be free so I let
it go.’ It was an astonishing moment in my life. It changed me.”
On Stage, vol. 3, Ed. Atica, p.38.
I) Copie do texto as seguintes expressões:
um guerreiro por toda a vida -
prisão perpétua -
II) O texto possui 6 parágrafos. Diga o número
do parágrafo em que se encontram as seguintes informações.
Se você defendesse a igualdade de direitos para os negros na sociedade
da África do sul, dominada pelos brancos, o governo mandaria você
para a prisão. ( )
Mandela começou como líder de um movimento político clandestino que
lutava contra o regime do apartheid.( )
Um negro que tivesse o mesmo emprego do vizinho branco recebia de
salário em um ano menos do que o vizinho em uma semana. ( )
Mandela foi eleito presidente da África do Sul nas primeiras eleições
livres daquele país. ( )
Mandela seria libertado se renunciasse à luta armada pela resistência
negra. ( )
Mandela é um herói para muitas pessoas. ( )
A prisão não foi suficiente para calar Mandela. Ele continuou sendo
um farol de esperança para seu povo. ( )
Mandela disse: ’Eu senti raiva. E um pouco de medo.’ ( )
Os africanos da geração de Mandela têm um nome ocidental e outro
africano. ( )
Em vez de baixar a cabeça para esse governo injusto, ele dedicou sua
vida inteira à batalha para libertar a África do Sul. ( )
III) Passe as frases abaixo para a forma negativa(N) e para a forma interrogativa (I).
1. ” I wanted to be free.”
N .....................................................................................................................
I ......................................................................................................................
2. Bill Clinton wrote a book about the African leader.
N ......................................................................................................................
I .......................................................................................................................
Respostas
Resposta:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--Two water fountains stood side-by-side. One was a modern machine capable of delivering cool water. The other, nothing more than a sink with a water fountain attached to deliver tap water, its basin showing the stains of the hard water flowing through the plumbing.
The modern water fountain had a sign over it: "Whites"; the other "Colored." There they stood, symbols of the racial divide that gripped the South in the days leading up to the civil rights movement. Today they stand in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, reminding people of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.
About 35 Soldiers and civilians from the Army Contracting Command headquarters staff at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., visited the institute Feb.1. Mike Weitzel, ACC historian, used the trip to educate participants on the history of the U.S. Army as it dealt with segregation and desegregation, and the Army's influence on the civil rights movement.
"The Army's history, like the history presented at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, is not pretty," Weitzel said. "There were actions that we should rightfully be shocked about. The histories are also stories of positive change. Ultimately, I hope the experience leaves participants with both a feeling of pride in accomplishment on where the Army and the nation have come, and the resolve to stand up for American equality."
According to the institute's website, its mission is to "enlighten each generation about civil and human rights by exploring our common past and working together in the present to build a better future." Its photographs, artwork, video displays and statues remind visitors of the civil rights movement and "the nonviolent protest against racial discrimination and injustice that ultimately led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
Maj. Gen. James Simpson, ACC commanding general, said it's important to understand the past in order to move forward.
"We have come a long way since the civil rights movement." Simpson said. "It's great to see that we're not living back there anymore. We are moving forward and are treating people the way people ought to be treated--with dignity and respect."
He said the visit was very emotional. He's not old enough to remember the civil rights movement but has read a lot about it. He said it's "difficult to understand people being mistreated just because of the color of their skin."
"As we walked across the street from the museum to the church," he said, referring to the 16th Street Baptist Church, "it was difficult to understand why you would bomb a church and four young ladies would be killed. It was emotional. It was all about treating people that way because of the color of their skin."
The Birmingham church was the target of a racially motivated bombing in 1963 that killed the four girls. It is still in operation.
Ray Carlson, ACC deputy chief information officer, was born in New Orleans in 1958.
"I remember much of those events from my childhood," he said, "but I remember them as individual events happening far away. To see them all collected into a single story (and) timeline was very powerful and gave me a new perspective. I'm still processing all of that."
A third-generation Italian immigrant, Carlson said he knows how poorly his grandparents were treated when they arrived in the United States.
"Eventually, we were woven into the culture," he added. "This drove home to me how different that experience was and is for African Americans then and today."
One of the displays played a recording of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Capt. Byron Young, part of the ACC G-4 staff, said hearing that speech never gets old.
"It reminds us of how far we have come as a nation and inspires us to continue to stand up for what is right," he said.
Today, the segregated water fountains and most other visible symbols of racism are gone. American society has changed and is closing in on the dream, but some divides remain.
"We are moving forward as one nation, treating people with dignity and respect," Simpson said. "Don't focus on our differences, whether that's the color of our skin, whatever. Move forward as one nation."