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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Long Walk to Freedom, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Division
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest
The Value of Optimism
Summary
Analysis
African people can’t vote in elections, only White people can. A party called the National Party takes power. Led by the Dutch Dr. Malan, the party rejects both African people and the British, having sided with Nazi Germany during World War II. The cornerstone of their platform is apartheid, which means “apartness” and is about separating African people from White people. The victory surprises everyone, particularly the United Party, which is also White and led by General Smuts, who fought the Nazis.
Apartheid is perhaps the most important concept for understanding South African politics in the twentieth century. Similar to defenders of segregation in the United States, pro-apartheid politicians in South Africa like Dr. Malan spoke about the supposed benefits of separating people by race, all while downplaying the extent to which non-White people faced inferior conditions and discrimination.
Themes
Malan begins to implement apartheid. Dr. Xuma, the head of the ANC, doesn’t like the tactics of some of the more activist members, and so the activists rally around trying to elect Dr. Moroka to depose him. They eventually convince Dr. Xuma to resign. Mandela, whose influence in the ANC is growing, ends up taking over many of Dr. Xuma’s responsibilities. Strikes occur across the country, despite the threat of harsh punishment, and the ANC sometimes struggles to coordinate actions with other groups, like the Marxists.
Mandela constantly feels a pull between more radical activists who want change immediately and more cautious activists who want to work within existing systems of power. In this case, Mandela sides with the more radical activists. And once again, Mandela observes the difficulty—and he recognizes the necessity—of coordinating with various groups with the same goal, the Marxists in this case.
Themes
