Similarly, both countries had illustrious leaders who guided the Civil Rights movements. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela was a symbol of black liberation. He was born on July 18, 1918 in Eastern Capetown, South Africa. He was educated at a British missionary boarding school at Fort Hare University, from which he was expelled in 1940 for leading a strike with a fellow student. He eventually obtained a law degree from the University of South Africa. Helped by Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo, Mandela formed the African National Congress Youth League in 1944, which came to dominate the ANC (African National Conference) in 1948. He became president of the ANC in 1950. On August 5, 1962, he was arrested again for provoking people to strike and for leaving South Africa without a passport. He remained in the maximum-security Robben Island prison for 27 years, until secret talks with President F.W. de Klerk initiated his release. After his liberation Mandela traveled to Western governments, urging them to maintain economic sanctions against South Africa and to raise funds to help the ANC function as an "above-ground" political party. His presidency commenced in 1994 when the ANC overwhelmingly won the majority of voters. Mandela's American counterpart was Martin Luther King, Jr. Although he never saw a presidency, King, Jr. did lead one of the strongest movements in American history which helped shape today's society. He was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. After attending grammar and high school locally, King enrolled in Morehouse College (also in Atlanta) in 1944. He became interested in ministry, and completed the course work for his doctorate in 1953. Three years later, King's nonviolent tactics were put to their most severe test in Birmingham, Alabama during a mass protest for hair hiring practices, the establishment of a biracial committee, and the desegregation of department-store facilities.
