No Easy Walk to Freedom

The central theme of No Easy Walk to Freedom is mass mobilization and unity. The opening chapter of the book consists of Mandela’s 1953 presidential address, which describes the Defiance Campaign of 1952 as “an effective way of getting the masses to function politically” and notes that the spirit of the day was direct action (4). He goes on to discuss the formulation of the “M” Plan, noting that its main objective was to consolidate the Congress machinery by “extend[ing] and strengthen[ing] the ties between the Congress and the people” (11). This relationship between the Congress machinery and the masses was all the more important in light of the government’s outlawing of earlier forms of political movement that the ANC and other organizations relied on, such as meeting amongst themselves and legally submitting resolutions to the parliament. 

As Mandela describes it, a principle of unity among various sectors of the population undergirded this mass mobilization strategy; his writings emphasize that multiracial, inter-class, inter-political, and international solidarity would be key to the strategy’s effectiveness. For example, his Chapter 2 criticism of the Liberal Party and their convergence of interests with the Nationalist government closes by noting the resistance movement’s openness to since and committed white allies (18). Chapter 6 begins with a quote in which Luthuli expresses that the multiracial nature of the Congress of the People who adopted the Freedom Charter was one of its most significant aspects (39). Chapter 11’s analysis of the general strike lauds the white student population for their role, noting that their “support showed that even amongst the Whites the forces of challenge and opposition to White supremacy exist” (83). Mandela also notes the show of support from the Coloured and Indian populations (84).

The embrace of multiracialism in the mass mobilization strategy, which was an outgrowth of resistance to racial domination of any kind, reflected Mandela’s personal ideals as well as the political ideals of the ANC. His opening arguments for his defense trial included an important declaration: “I am no racialist, and I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a Black man or a White man” (105). Speaking on behalf of the ANC, he would later assert, “Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy” (169).

Out of multiracial solidarity grew interclass and inter-political solidarity as key factors in the mass mobilization strategy. Mandela’s writings emphasize the importance of workers to the resistance movement on the grounds that “a political organization that does not receive the support of the workers is in fact paralysed” (10). Chapter 6 identifies workers as “the principal force upon which the democratic movement should rely (43), but Mandela also viewed “non-European traders and businessmen” (43)—i.e., the middle class—as potential allies; they too were oppressed by the racialist policies of the Nationalist government. Chapter 14’s trial testimony further highlights this latter group’s investment in the movement against white supremacy, as Mandela used his cross-examination of Moolla to draw out the effects of the Group Areas Act on the Indian population.

Perhaps the most important indications of inter-political solidarity were the ANC’s and Mandela’s views on the Communist Party. Chapter 15’s trial testimony includes Mandela’s acknowledgment of his initial resistance to admitting Communists to the ANC as well as his explanation that the ANC ultimately rejected the expulsion proposal on the grounds that the ANC was a “Parliament of the African people, accommodating people of various political convictions, all united by the common goal of national liberation” (161). He went on to explain that for many decades the Communist Party was the only group to “treat Africans as human beings and their equals [. . .] [and] work with Africans for the attainment of political rights” (162). There was thus a convergence of multiracial and inter-political solidarity towards the common goal of eradicating the Nationalist government. 

Other indications of inter-political and multiracial solidarity in the mass mobilization strategy include the fact that the SAIC collaborated with ANC in the formulation of the “M” Plan and that the Congress of the People consisted of over 2,000 delegates and “democratic forces irrespective of race, ideological conviction, party affiliation or religious belief” (40). Similarly, the All-In African conference resolutions were “unanimously adopted by more than 1,500 delegates” (73), including members of the “Liberal Party, the Inter-Denominational African Ministers’ Federation, the Eastwood Advisory Board, the Zenzele Club, and scores of other organizations from all over the county” (73). The collaboration of multiple political organizations reflected the implementation of the “M” Plan articulated in Chapter 1.

The mass mobilization strategy, however, extended beyond populations and organizations within South Africa to political allies on an international level. Mandela saw international solidarity as an important means to defeat the government. Chapters 10 and 11 discuss the All-In resolutions and the noncooperation campaign, which called on democratic people from all over the world to support the internal struggle by imposing diplomatic and economic sanctions on the South African Government. In Mandela’s later PAFMECA address, he expressed gratitude for the various nations that enforced those sanctions and provided asylum for South African refugees (92). He also mentioned the pressure that African countries put on the UN to expel South Africa and impose economic sanctions (97-98). Chapter 15’s explanation of Umkonto organization includes attention to international support in the form of military training from other African countries and financial support from communist countries.

Thus, the mass mobilization strategy of the resistance movement from 1949 forward indicated the extent to which the resistance movement was not merely a movement of Black people or the ANC alone, but one that relied on the solidarity of people, organizations, and governments at home and abroad. Mandela was clear in his speeches and writings that petty differences had to be put aside in order to defeat the racialism and fascism of the South African government and bring about democracy, equality, and human dignity in South Africa.