The late Nelson Mandela, the Father of the Nation of South Africa, was a president, activist, and to this day is a well-known persona to many. However, although everyone knows his name, not everyone knows about the great deeds he had accomplished in his life. The former president of South Africa left a legacy of peace and justice after serving 27 years in prison and dedicating his life to upholding the civil rights of black South Africans. However, that's not all that Mandela has left behind. Hundreds of inspirational quotes and quotes about peace keep inspiring many nations and individuals to this very day.
Mandela used his unmatched spirit to better the lives of millions of his fellow citizens while facing obstacles like apartheid, jail, and doubt. He did this by being an activist, scholar, leader, and, ultimately, one of the most exemplary humanitarians the world has ever seen. In his famous quotes, thousands, if not millions, of people find wisdom, motivation, the push for change, and the stimulus to never stop fighting for their rights and freedom.
Apart from freeing an entire nation from a racist apartheid regime, Mandela fought for the world's most defenseless citizens right up until the end of his life. Much of his worldview and beliefs can be seen and experienced by reading his inspiring quotes or citations from public speeches he delivered. Nelson Mandela quotes are now used by leaders and public speakers and are referred to by people all across the nation. Reciting Mandela's quotes about freedom and peace is a way to keep the memory of this Giant Of History alive and relish the ungraspable legacy he has left behind.
Below, we have compiled a list of famous inspirational quotes from Nelson Mandela that keep the flame of peace, justice, and freedom burning to this day when humanity needs it more than ever. Also, what is your favorite Nelson Mandela quote? Let us know.
#81
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal that I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
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#82
“One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.”
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#83
“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
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#84
“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
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#85
“Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs.”
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#86
“Your playing small does not serve the world. Who are you not to be great?”
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#87
“There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.”
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#88
“I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.”
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#89
“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
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#90
“Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.”
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#91
“Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.”
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#92
“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”
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#93
“A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle, and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor. At a point, one can only fight fire with fire.”
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#94
“I shall stick to our vow: never, never under any circumstances, to say anything unbecoming of the other... The trouble, of course, is that most successful men are prone to some form of vanity. There comes a stage in their lives when they consider it permissible to be egotistic and to brag to the public at large about their unique achievements.”
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#95
“Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.”
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#96
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.”
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#97
“A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.”
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#98
"In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility."
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#99
"Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."
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#100
"Politics can be strengthened by music, but music has a potency that defies politics."
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