When the students decided to strike, he joined them and was expelled.
His uncle wanted him to apologize to the university authorities and urged him to abandon the student boycott and continue his studies. His uncle also thought it was time for him to marry. According to the custom of the time his relative arranged the marriage. The bride had already been chosen. Rolihlahla had no choice. If he wanted to avoid the marriage he had to run away. Like many boys his age he headed for the big city of Johannesburg.
Taking the European name that his father had given him, Nelson Mandela, he decided that he would become a lawyer and work to free his people.
Egoli-City of Gold.
In 1941,when Mandela was twenty-three, Johannesburg was well on its way to becoming one of the world's most modern cities. Africans called it "Egoli" - City of Gold. Sixty years earlier gold had been discovered, and the city had grown rapidly. Hundreds of thousands of Africans from the surrounding rural areas migrated to Johannesburg, hoping to find work in the factories and the mines. .
After working briefly at Crown Mines, Nelson met Walter Sisulu. Sisulu's father was white, but Walter, who had been raised by his mother, was dark. He was fired from his first job for subordination. After that he had a number of jobs: in the mines and factories, at a bakery, and as a kitchen boy in a white household. Later he opened a real estate agency and made a living selling what little land blacks could purchase.
Mandela and Sisulu became good friends. When Mandela received his BA degree in 1942,Sisulu lent him money to buy a suit for his graduation ceremony. When Sisulu suggested that Mandela move in with him and his mother he gratefully accepted.
In 1932,World War 2 had begun. Sisulu worked to convince black South Africans not to enlist in the army. Many agreed with him.