Nelson Mandela Quotes

All nations are not ready for this.

Up you mighty race. You can accomplish what you will! Build your future on these foundations: Freedom, Justice and Equality.

The government and people are inseparable under our system. We could not separate the government from the people if we would, and we would not if we could. This unity is the strength of our political structure.

When I was very young, I was attracted to men and to government. I assumed that my attraction for men would likely interfere with my activity in government. I could not have believed that today, my attraction to men is much more politically acceptable than my attraction to government.

Now we are proud that the government has moved from the class of the exploiters to the class of the people who were being exploited. And in the great name of the same class, I raise this nation's flag which is a strong symbol of this transfer.

If people come out of an election and everyone’s despairing, everyone’s in a collective civic funk, we don’t get anything done. Simply reminding people of how bad things are and what you lost, nobody’s moved by that. People are moved by the sense of possiblity, a sense of hope.

I believe we can make progress on bringing true equality and fairness back to our government if we continue to work together and make our voices heard.

Everybody is important. Everybody has something to give.

'Black Messiah' is a hell of a name for an album. It can easily be misunderstood. Many will think it's about religion. Some will jump to the conclusion that I'm calling myself a Black Messiah. For me, the title is about all of us. It's about the world. It's about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah.

There must be no abuse of people and they did ask that the South Africa Government should give them whatever support they needed to make sure that they have a proper legal process, proper detention, no abuse of people during interrogation and all of that. And so, we agreed.

People have been willing to accept that the government is lying to us, but they are now more willing to accept the concept of aliens and other life forms. There's just a slew of stuff out there right now. It's been people's closet belief system, and now it's coming out of the closet.

To those who scare peace loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

Whether people identify as feminists or not, if they're doing work that furthers a feminist cause, I think that's wonderful, like if it works for me, right, it works for the movement.

People united in pursuit of a righteous cause are unstoppable

It may not necessarily be the way I would like to see it happen, but the reality is we could still bring millions of people out of the darkness into the light.

Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers.

We give people fish. We teach them to fish. We tear down the walls that have been built up around the fish pond. And we figure out who polluted it.

Democrats and Republicans should get together and unite for the good of our country and for the good of the American people.

You can't go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise it's just a cage. Besides you don't build a better world by choppin' heads off and giving decent girls away to frogs.

Successful organizing is not built on self-interest but rather on dignity and a sense of purpose.

Our history has moved in that direction slowly at times but unmistakably thanks to generations of Americans who refused to give up or back down.Now you are writing a new chapter of that story. This campaign [2016] is about making sure there are no ceilings, no limits on any of us. And this our moment to come together.

I'm getting a little fed up with some of the pessimism that I'm hearing. I know some people who will not be convinced we've really won anything until the media changes. And that isn't gonna happen. They look at the media not liking Trump and they think it's failure. They look at the media ripping Trump and destroying him and they think it's gonna work and it means failure. And I get so fed up. I said, "Do you people not understand we're on the cusp here of one of the most exciting next four years?" The growth potential, the potential of putting America back together.

Nationality started as something natural, but we should not be restrained by the old politics that make up these clear lines. It should have its own way of evolving. In some places, it will evolve slower and in others, faster. It's like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we'll be going backward.

I asked the American people do not give in to the fear. Do not give into the frustration. We can disagree about public policy. We can disagree about it vibrantly, passionately, but we are a hopeful people. And we have every right to be hopeful.