Nelson Mandela

• South Africa had a political system of apartheid until very recently
• Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress fought against apartheid
• Mandela spent thirty years in prison
• Democratic elections were held in South Africa in 1994
• Mandela became the first black President of South Africa
• The inauguration ceremony took place in the Union Buildings amphitheatre in Pretoria
• The inauguration marked the installation of South Africa's first democratic, non-racial government
• The inauguration was attended by politicians and dignitaries from over 140 countries
• Mandela spoke about achieving political emancipation and liberating all people from poverty, deprivation, suffering, and discrimination
• Mandela mentioned "an extraordinary human disaster" at the beginning of his speech
• Mandela set out ideals for the future of South Africa, including never experiencing oppression again and liberating all people from bondage
• Mandela thanked international leaders for coming to take part in the common victory for justice, peace, and human dignity
• Military generals saluted Mandela and pledged their loyalty to the new government
• The military displayed loyalty to democracy and the freely elected government
• Two national anthems were sung to symbolize unity and the transition to a new era
• In the first decade of the twentieth century, South Africa had a system of racial domination, but in the final decade, it recognized the rights and freedoms of all peoples
• Courage to Mandela means triumphing over fear and conquering it
• Mandela believes that love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate
• Mandela describes the oppression and brutality in South Africa as creating extraordinary individuals like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and others
• Mandela reflects on the profound hurt caused by apartheid and the resilience of his people
• Mandela talks about the struggle to fulfill obligations to family and people in a society like South Africa
• Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress because he realized that not only his freedom was curtailed, but the freedom of everyone who looked like him
• Mandela's hunger for his own freedom transformed into a greater hunger for the freedom of his people to live with dignity and self-respect
• Freedom is indivisible; the chains on anyone of Mandela's people were the chains on all of them, and the chains on all of his people were the chains on him
• Mandela's desire for the freedom of his people led him to become a bold man, a criminal, a man without a home, and to live like a monk
• Courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it
• The tiger in the zoo should be lurking in shadow, sliding through long grass near the water hole where plump deer pass
• The tiger in the zoo should be snarling around houses at the jungle's edge, baring his white fangs and claws, terrorizing the village