Nelson Mandela
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and is widely regarded as one of the great moral leaders of the twentieth century. Born in 1918 in Mvezo, he led the African National Congress's resistance to apartheid, was imprisoned for twenty-seven years (most of them on Robben Island), and emerged in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended white minority rule. His autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and his speeches — including the Rivonia Trial speech of 1964 ('I am prepared to die') and his 1994 inauguration address — are among the most-cited texts of modern political philosophy. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and died in Johannesburg in 2013.
quotes in library
Quotes by Nelson Mandela
116 quotes“In the long sweep of African history, courage is the constant.”
“Madiba, they called me. The name means dignity.”
“In every act of dignity, freedom is rehearsed.”
“My greatest commitment was to my people. My next was to my conscience.”
“To live by both was the work of a lifetime.”
“In prison, I learned what mattered.”
“In prison, I forgave my jailers.”
“That forgiveness is what walked out of the gate with me, in 1990.”
“Beloved, your dignity is non-negotiable. Hold to it.”
“Sport has the power to change the world.”
“It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”
“It speaks to youth in a language they understand.”
“Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”
“It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers.”
“Beloved, walk the long road. The destination is freedom.”
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