Imagine being told you cannot vote because of the color of your skin. For decades, this was the reality in South Africa under a system called apartheid. The white minority government kept Black South Africans from voting, attending the same schools, or using the same beaches. On April 27, 1994, apartheid ended at the ballot box. For the first time in history, every adult in South Africa could vote regardless of race. The election lasted four days because so many people turned out. Voters waited in lines that stretched for miles. Many elderly people who had never been allowed to vote walked for hours. The election was historic for another reason. Nelson Mandela, who had spent 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid, won the presidency. He became South Africa's first Black president. Instead of seeking revenge against those who had imprisoned him, Mandela called for reconciliation. He asked Black and white South Africans to build the country together. Today, April 27 is Freedom Day, South Africa's most important national holiday.