( CNN ) -- Nelson Mandela , hailed for leading South Africa out of decades of apartheid , always said he wanted to be remembered as part of a collective and not in isolation . `` We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom . We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve lasting success . We must therefore act together as a united people for national reconciliation , for nation building , for the birth of a new world , '' said Mandela in his inauguration speech when he became South Africa 's first black president in 1994 . He had spent 27 years in prison for his fight for democracy and racial equality . From 1948 until 1994 the South African government segregated black South Africans from white South Africans in all areas of life , including education , medical care and other public services . Read more : Nelson Mandela , anti-apartheid icon and father of modern South Africa , dies . But Mandela was n't alone in his fight to end this injustice . These men and women , many of whom were fellow members of the African National Congress ( ANC ) , stood up against racial segregation and discrimination .
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa , enforced by the government from 1948 until 1994 . These men and women were anti-apartheid activists who stood up against injustice . They did this through non-violent protest actions such as sit-ins at white owned businesses or refusing to pay taxes on their income.