Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela fought the same battle in different continents.

 Mandela and MLK: What They Had in Common

While Martin Luther King Jr. fought the evils of racism and racial segregation in the United States, Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting South Africa’s system of racism and segregation called apartheid.

Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela and was given the English name Nelson by his first teacher.
Martin Luther King Jr. was christened Michael King Jr. His name was changed at age 6 when his father took the name Martin Luther King Sr., in honor of Protestant leader Martin Luther.
  
Both King and Mandela were jailed for their beliefs and activism. King famously wrote his Letter From a Birmingham Jail while detained in Alabama and Mandela spent 27 years in prison for treason.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed the third Monday of January each year, and the Nelson Mandela International Day of Service is observed on his birthday, July 18, each year.

Although Nelson Mandela was married three times over the course of his life, his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (left), came to be known as a freedom fighter in her own right.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King (right), also became an iconic figure in the civil rights movement.