Nelson Mandela was African.
Mvezo is a small village on the banks of the Mbashe River , not far from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa . Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( [ mænˈdɛlə ] 18 July 1918 -- 5 December 2013 ) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary , politician , and philanthropist , who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 . A Xhosa , Mandela was born in Mvezo to the Thembu royal family .