Nelson Mandela Quotes
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I realized quickly what Mandela and Tambo meant to ordinary Africans. It was a place where they could come and find a sympathetic ear and a competent ally, a place where they would not be either turned away or cheated, a place where they might actually feel proud to be represented by men of their own skin color.
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There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
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Unlike some politicians, I can admit to a mistake.
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Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.
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What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
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There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
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The Gandhian influence dominated freedom struggles on the African continent right up to the 1960s because of the power it generated and the unity it forged among the apparently powerless. Nonviolence was the official stance of all major African coalitions, and the South African A.N.C. remained implacably opposed to violence for most of its existence.
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There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.
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When I came to Johannesburg from the countryside, I knew nobody, but many strangers were very kind to me. I then was dragged into politics, and then, subsequently, I became a lawyer.
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I have been influenced in my thinking by both west and east.
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People respond in accordance to how you relate to them. If you approach them on the basis of violence, that's how they'll react. But if you say, 'We want peace, we want stability,' we can then do a lot of things that will contribute towards the progress of our society.
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Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.
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It always seems impossible until it's done.
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You know, you can only lead them from behind.
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The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhuni, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle.
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If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.
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In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.
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The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity.
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My son has died of AIDS.
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In the 1940s, traveling for an African was a complicated process. All Africans over the age of sixteen were compelled to carry 'Native passes' issued by the Native Affairs Department and were required to show that pass to any white policeman, civil servant, or employer. Failure to do so could mean arrest, trial, a jail sentence or fine.
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Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment.
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Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.
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Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence.
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Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.