April 20, 1964: Nelson Mandela Says He Is Prepared to Die

April 20, 1964: Nelson Mandela is on trial for treason in Johannesburg, South Africa. He tells the judge about his ideal, "My lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

He was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, in the Eastern Cape province of what was then known as the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion of the British Empire (and, after 1947, the British Commonwealth). As a result, the white minority, a combination of British and Dutch-ancestry "Boers" or "Afrikaners," instituted policies of racial segregation, called "apartheid," far beyond what Great Britain ever had.

Mandela claimed to have inherited a "proud rebelliousness" and a "stubborn sense of fairness" from his father. He was at university when World War II broke out, and supported the British Empire and opposed Nazi Germany. He became a lawyer, and rose through the ranks of the African National Congress, the leading advocacy organization for black South Africans. In 1958, his work with the ANC got him charged with treason. The charges were dropped, but, at the age of 40, he was already on the apartheidists' radar.

On October 5, 1960, a referendum -- with only white people voting -- to become the Republic of South Africa was narrowly approved, and the country officially left the British Commonwealth on May 31, 1961. This permitted a tightening of the apartheid laws.

In response to these whites-only actions, the ANC passed a resolution declaring "No Constitution or form of Government decided without the participation of the African people who form an absolute majority of the population can enjoy moral validity or merit support either within South Africa or beyond its borders." Mandela himself wrote:

The adoption of this part of the resolution did not mean that conference preferred a monarchy to a republican form of government. Such considerations were unimportant and irrelevant. The point at issue, and which was emphasized over and over again by delegates, was that a minority Government had decided to proclaim a White Republic under which the living conditions of the African people would continue to deteriorate.

In response to this, the government cracked down as never before. Mandela and 2 others founded uMkhonto we Sizwe, meaning "Spear of the Nation," or "MK" for short. Inspired by the success of Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba -- and, in spite of his virtues, Castro and Mandela would be lifelong friends -- the group carried out a bombing campaign in December 1961.

On August 5, 1962 -- the day Marilyn Monroe died -- Mandela was arrested, and was held prisoner in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, before his trial. (Unusually, the nation has three capitals. Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. Johannesburg is the largest city, and the unofficial capital of South African culture, but not in any official way a capital.)

On April 20, 1964, in what became known as the Rivonia Trial, Mandela testified on his own behalf, delivering what became known as the "I Am Prepared to Die Speech." He closed:

I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized. But, My Lord, if it needs to be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

On June 12, Mandela was convicted. The prosecution asked for the death penalty. Instead, the presiding judge, Justice Quartus de Wet, sentence him to life in prison. Mandela was taken to Robben Island.

His speech was published worldwide, and many people who came to admire him for it feared that it would be the last they ever heard from him. He served 27 years.

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April 20, 1964 was a Monday. Actors Crispin Glover and Andy Serkis were born. So was longtime NFL placekicker John Carney.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 4 and 5. The Toronto Maple Leafs would beat the Detroit Red Wings in 7 games. Game 2 of the NBA Finals was played. The Boston Celtics beat the San Francisco Warriors, 124-101 at the Boston Garden. Wilt Chamberlain scored 32 points and had 25 rebounds, but, as usual, the Red Auerbach-coached, Bill Russell-led Celtics were the better team. They won the series in 5 games.

And there were 4 baseball games played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Fenway Park. Bill Monbouquette allowed 7 hits over 8 innings, but no runs, and Dick Radatz allowed 2 more hits but finished the shutout. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4, and Tony Conigliaro hit his 2nd career home run.

Bob Meyer had a poor start for the Yankees, and was traded to the Los Angeles Angels 2 months later. Bobby Richardson got 3 hits, Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard 2 each, Tom Tresh and Joe Pepitone 1 each, and that was it.

* The Houston Colt .45s beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-1 at Colt Stadium in Houston. The Colts became the Houston Astros the next season.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hank Aaron went 0-for-5.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Willie McCovey hit a home run. Frank Robinson went 1-for-5. Pete Rose went 0-for-4 with a walk.