Apartheid (Afrikaans for "separateness") is the racially segregated form of government that operated in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. The apartheid government's laws and policies heavily favored the country’s white minority, and the National Party focused its resources on advancing Afrikaans language and culture while exploiting and impoverishing the country's Indigenous Black majority. 

In his speech, Mandela refers to the Pass Laws. These apartheid laws required every Black South African to carry what was called a “dompas”—a word that translates from Afrikaans as a “stupid pass.” The pass requirement gave the police a pretext to harass and arrest many Black South Africans—forcing them to live in constant danger and under constant surveillance. Mandela also describes the inequality in education created by the Bantu Education Act, which prescribed racially segregated educational facilities as a matter of law (“Bantu Education and Racist Compartmentalizing of Education.” South African History Online, 27 Aug. 2019).

Mandela’s speech is in direct opposition to the apartheid government, who sentenced him to life in prison for his political opposition. Mandela is charged for sabotage against the government. However, in this speech, he also references previous instances in which the government tried to imprison him for life.