is easy to see how he had a profound impact on the nationalistic ideals held by Mandela. Regarding Lembede, Mandela says, "Lembede's views struck a chord in me. I, too, had been susceptible to paternalistic British colonialism and the appeal of being perceived by whites as "cultured" and "progressive" and "civilized" (85). Lembede's view that "struck a chord" in Mandela was that all of these ideas of being accepted by whites were not of the right thinking. Mandela is very blunt about the feelings of Lembede and how he felt about them when he writes, "Like Lembede, I came to see the antidote as militant African nationalism" (85). In 1944 Lembede, Mandela, Tambo, and several other influential black South Africans formed the Youth League of the ANC (Mandela 87). This group was based on principles very similar to those held by Lembede. The main theme held by the ANCYL was that, "We believe that the national liberation of Africans will be achieved by Africans themselves. The Congress Youth League must be the brain-trust and power-station of the spirit of African nationalism" (Mandela 87). With this as their mission statement, the ANCYL was more of a grassroots organization focused on promoting the participation of the masses for the first time. The group stressed the idea of Africa being a black man's continent, and that the black South Africans needed to take what was rightfully theirs (Mandela 84-85). After looking at these ideals stressed by Lembede and the ANCYL one can easily see where Mandela got his nationalistic ideals of pride in being African, the need for involvement of the African masses in their own liberation, and the idea that Africa is for black people and belongs to black people. After looking at the influence Lembede and the ANCYL had on Mandela, the next major influence on Mandela is a bit of a surprising one. In 1946 the South African government passed the Asiatic Land Tenure Act (Mandela 90). This act placed...
