I am the captain of my soul.

— Nelson Mandela

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY.

— Nelson Mandela

I came across few whites as a boy at Run. The local magistrate, of course, was white, as was the nearest shopkeeper. Occasionally, white travelers or policemen passed through our area. These whites appeared as grand as gods to me, and I was aware that they were to be treated with a mixture of fear and respect.

— Nelson Mandela

I cannot pinpoint a moment when I became politicized, when I knew that I would spend my life in the liberation struggle. To be an African in South Africa means that one is politicized from the moment of one's birth, whether one acknowledges it or not... His life is circumscribed by racist laws and regulations that cripple his growth, dim his potential, and stunt his life... I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities, 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, From henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.

— Nelson Mandela

I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. Furthermore, I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites.

— Nelson Mandela

I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.

— Nelson Mandela

If I preached unity, I must act like a unifier, even at the risk of perhaps alienating some of my own colleagues.

— Nelson Mandela

If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.

— Nelson Mandela

If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers.

— Nelson Mandela

If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent.

— Nelson Mandela