The ANC was a group formed in 1911 with a goal to bring all Africans together to defend their rights and freedoms and when Nelson Mandela was in Johannesburg, Walter Sisulu encouraged him to attend their meetings. By then, the ANC had become the most important organisation fighting racism in South Africa. Shortly after Nelson began attending ANC meetings, he devoted his life to the liberation of his people and in 1944, with the help of some other young men who wanted to take more direct action against apartheid, formed the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). The ANCYL organised protests and tried to force the government into giving African 's their rights. They aimed to draft and frame the constitution, as well as growing and improving their organisation. In forming this league, Mandela became one of their main leaders and started to become a beacon of hope for the black people of South …show more content…
The ANC took their next big step and wrote a freedom charter, listing plans for a future South Africa where all people, no matter what their colour or background was, could have equal rights. Many leaflets were sent throughout South Africa asking people for their input on laws and how they could make it a happy place for everyone who lived there. Thousands of ideas came in and over 3000 people ?attended? a Congress of the People in 1955. This meeting was ended by armed police, however the freedom Charter had been produced and united all the organisations in this struggle to bring about a new South Africa. This group became known as the Congress Alliance. Throughout this time Mandela had a ban on him, meaning he could not attend meetings or any other event, not even his son 's birthday party. This was a tough time for Mandela but he relieved much of his stress by going to the boxing ring each night. Mandela was arrested again along with the leaders of the ANC in 1956. It was said that the freedom charter was a ploy to overthrow the government and he had been charged with high treason. Mandela again showed true leadership when he was faced with choosing between the ANC and his marriage.CLARIFY This would have been a tough decision for Mandela but he had devoted his life to his political struggle and nothing would stop him from achieving his