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Chapter 27
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Long Walk to Freedom, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Division
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest
The Value of Optimism
Summary
Analysis
One of the Nationalist Party’s least popular policies is passes for women that they call “reference books.” Although police have been arresting women who protest, Winnie tells Mandela that she wants to go to a protest. Mandela supports her but lets her know of the possible consequences of getting arrested, including losing her job. Many women go to protest at the Central Pass Office, and Mandela and Tambo’s law firm gets involved with defending those arrested. Winnie is among those arrested, but she gets out on bail and remains determined to stay involved with the protest movement.
The pass laws, which required Black South Africans to carry around passes, show the extent that the government is willing to go to control the lives of Black citizens. The fact that Winnie is among those arrested in the protest shows how Mandela’s personal and political lives are intertwined, with Winnie unable (and for that matter, unwilling) to escape the consequences that come along with being married to an activist husband.
Themes
