Today is Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela‘s 95th birthday. Known for leading the revolution against the South African government during apartheid, he has not only impacted his country for the better, but has inspired the world.
America’s present racial struggle is mainly focused on justice for Trayvon Martin and other young black men who have been killed, only to have their killers walk free. Many might not believe it, but Mandela’s words can greatly influence our struggle for justice.
Below is a collection of some of Mandela’s MANY powerful words, along with some powerful pictures of “Justice For Trayvon” protests that have occurred in the country after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering the unarmed 17-year-old.
Thanks Madiba, for teaching people everywhere, but especially the American people, that we have the right to get up and protest our government when we feel that it has wronged us. We owe you everything.
Happy 95th birthday!
“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”
“I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days.”
“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.”
“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… Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never explained.”
“We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.”
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”
“A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle, and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor. At a point, one can only fight fire with fire.”
“There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenseless people.”
“It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.”
“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
“Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.”
“A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it’s lowest ones.”
“No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.”
“Where you stand depends on where you sit.”
“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation.”
“I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.”
SOURCE: Getty Images and GoodReads
