During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle…

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 will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Sourced, I am Prepared to Die (1964)

Other Nelson Mandela Quotes

We consider ourselves to be comrades in arms to the Palestinian Arabs in their struggle for the liberation of Palestine. There is not a single citizen in South Africa who is not ready to stand by his Palestinian brothers in their legitimate fight against the Zionist racists. - View Quote Details on We consider ourselves to be comrades in arms to the…
This is one of the most important moments in the life of our country. I stand here before you filled with deep pride and joy: — pride in the ordinary, humble people of this country. You have shown such a calm, patient determination to reclaim this country as your own, - and joy that we can loudly proclaim from the rooftops — free at last! - View Quote Details on This is one of the most important moments in the…
It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. 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. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. - View Quote Details on It was during those long and lonely years that my…
Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. Universal suffrage on a common voters’ roll in a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony. - View Quote Details on Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow…
India is Gandhi’s country of birth; South Africa his country of adoption. He was both an Indian and a South African citizen. Both countries contributed to his intellectual and moral genius, and he shaped the liberatory movements in both colonial theaters.
He is the archetypal anticolonial revolutionary. His strategy of noncooperation, his assertion that we can be dominated only if we cooperate with our dominators, and his nonviolent resistance inspired anticolonial and antiracist movements internationally in our century. - View Quote Details on India is Gandhi’s country of birth; South Africa his country…
You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy. - View Quote Details on You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the…
Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. - View Quote Details on Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts…
Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. - View Quote Details on Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You…
Perhaps it was history that ordained that it be here, at the Cape of Good Hope that we should lay the foundation stone of our new nation. For it was here at this Cape, over three centuries ago, that there began the fateful convergence of the peoples of Africa, Europe and Asia on these shores. - View Quote Details on Perhaps it was history that ordained that it be here,…
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. - View Quote Details on If you want to make peace with your enemy, you…