Quote #18

That triumph will finally bring to a close a history of five hundred years of African colonisation that began with the establishment of the Portuguese empire. Thus, it will mark a great step forward in history and also serve as a common pledge of the peoples of the world to fight racism, wherever it occurs and whatever guise it assumes.

More from Nelson Mandela

  1. We speak here of the challenge of the dichotomies of war and peace, violence and non-violence, racism and human dignity, oppression and rep…
  2. In front of this distinguished audience, we commit the new South Africa to the relentless pursuit of the purposes defined in the World Decl…
  3. 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, …
  4. The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds bot…
  5. There must be an end to white monopoly on political power, and a fundamental restructuring of our political and economic systems to ensure …
  6. In relation to these matters, we appeal to those who govern Burma that they release our fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi…
  7. The majority of South Africans, black and white, recognize that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our own decisive mass action…
  8. Far from the rough and tumble of the politics of our own country. I would like to take this opportunity to join the Norwegian Nobel Committ…

All Nelson Mandela quotes