Nelson Mandela Men Quotations

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.

There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous.

I realized quickly what Mandela and Tambo meant to ordinary Africans. It was a place where they could come and find a sympathetic ear and a competent ally, a place where they would not be either turned away or cheated, a place where they might actually feel proud to be represented by men of their own skin color.

Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.

I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.

I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.

Africans require, want, the franchise on the basis of one man one vote. They want political independence.

One temptation of a leader elected unopposed is that he may use that powerful position to settle scores with his detractors, marginalize them and, in certain cases, get rid of them and surround himself with yes men and women,

Whatever the sentence Your Worship sees fit to impose upon me for the crime for which I have been convicted before this court may it rest assured that when my sentence has been completed, I will still be moved as men are always moved, by their consci

I know that, throughout the world, there are good men and women concerned with the greatest challenges facing society today - poverty, illiteracy, and disease.

I would like it to be said: here lies a man who has done his duty on earth

Both Bush as well as Tony Blair are undermining an idea [the United Nations]. Is this because the secretary general of the United Nations [Ghanaian Kofi Annan] is now a black man? They never did that when secretary generals were white.

What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts,

There is nothing more dangerous than a humiliated man.

I feel like a young man of 15.

To go to prison because of your convictions and be prepared to suffer for what you believe in, is something worthwhile. It is an achievement for a man to do his duty on earth irrespective of the consequences.

I went as an observer, not a participant, for I do not think that I ever spoke. I wanted to understand the issues under discussion, evaluate the arguments, see the calibre of the men involved.

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... If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.

Adversity cleanses the lethargies of man

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.

Let us remind ourselves that it is ordinary people - men and women, boys and girls - that make the world a special place

Video screenshot Facts and figures from Nelson Mandela's life, set to the trailer from 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.' "Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of our 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 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.

We need a fundamental change of mindset with regards to the way we speak and behave about sex and sexuality. Boys and men have a particularly critical role in this regard, changing the chauvinist and demeaning ways sexuality and women were traditionally dealt with in both our actions and speaking.

I always knew that someday I would once again feel the grass under my feet and walk in the sunshine as a free man.

Resentment is like a glass of poison that a man drinks; then he sits down and waits for his enemy to die.

I knew we could improve our lives even in jail. We could come out as different men, and we could even come out with two degrees. Educating ourselves was a way to give ourselves the most powerful weapon for freedom.

I have never regarded any man as my superior, either in my life outside or inside prison.

There will be life after Mandela. On my last day I want to know that those who remain behind will say: 'The man who lies here has done his duty for his country and his people.'

Men come and men go, I have come and I will go when my time comes

I want to sleep for eternity with a broad smile on my face. I want those who remain behind to say this man has done his duty.

Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

My respect for human beings is based not on the colour of a man’s skin nor authority he may wield, but purely on merit.

Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression... Our endeavors must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child.

I have always admired men and women who used their talents to serve the community, and who were highly respected and admired for their efforts and sacrifices, even though they held no office whatsoever in government or society.

Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished

That was one of the things that worried me – to be raised to the position of a semi-god – because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, and a man who is committed, but never the less, sometimes he fails to live up to expectations.

The relations between a man and his or her god is a personal matter; you can't go out and challenge the belief of people in a superior being.

I shall stick to our vow: never, never under any circumstances, to say anything unbecoming of the other...The trouble, of course, is that most successful men are prone to some form of vanity. There comes a stage in their lives when they consider it permissible to be egotistic and to brag to the public at large about their unique achievements.

The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.

When I closed THE GRAPES OF WRATH, I was a different man. It enriched my powers of thinking and discipline, and my relationships. I left prison more informed than when I went in. And the more informed you are, the less arrogant and aggressive you are.

My dream would be a multicultural society, one that is diverse and where every man, woman and child are treated equally. I dream of a world where all people of all races work together in harmony.

Fools multiply when wise men are silent.