Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa.
He was the president in South Africa. He went to jail before he became president.
He went to jail because he was sentenced to prison for encouraging black South Africans to go on strike and for illegally leaving South Africa. He battled South African apartheid and planned to overthrow the government by non-violent protests. So he got in jail for 27 years. When that happens, he was 44 years-old. So when he get out of the jail, he was 71.
And also he died in Dec. 4, 2013, when he was 95 years-old. In Johannesburg, South Africa.
He got his name from his first grade teacher, when he was 7 years-old, before he got his name ‘Nelson Mandela’, he’s named Rolihlahla.
His father was a chief Henry, has 4 wives, one is Nelson’s mom, but then the master was angry at his father, so they took away his father’s title and all his father’s money. And his father died when Nelson was 9.
“I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days.”
“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.”
“Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.”
“Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.”
“Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”
“Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.”
“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.”
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it….The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
“Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one’s commitment.”
“I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
“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 which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
This sentence is for that the judge let him to say his last sentence, and after he said that, judge let him stay alive.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”
“Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.”
“I was made, by the law, a criminal, not because of what I had done, but because of what I stood for, because of what I thought, because of my conscience.”
These are all his quotes.
