Our people page on Nelson Mandela

More from and about
Nelson Mandela
(biographical info lower on page)

As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality
persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.

Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom.

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.

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lay defeat and death.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin, or their background, or their religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. 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.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of
their skin, or their background, or their religion. People must
learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love,
for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

welcome page - contents - gallery - obstacles - quotations - the people behind the words
our current e-zine - articles and excerpts - Daily Meditations, Year Two - Year Three

Sign up for your free daily spiritual or general quotation ~ ~ Sign up for your free daily meditation

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter;
I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the
secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are
many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal
a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the
distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with
freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger
for my long walk is not ended.

As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to
my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and
hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand where he studied law. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.

After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela’s campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela’s reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life’s work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation’s National Chairperson. -from The Nobel Prize web page

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you. Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader). All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another. Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!