Nelson Mandela Speaks: Forging Democratic Nonracial South Africa

by Nelson Mandela, Steve Clark

Collects speeches, letters, and interviews with Nelson Mandela since his February 1990 release from prison

Genres: South Africa

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99.

Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. The South African courts convicted him on charges of sabotage, as well as other crimes committed while he led the movement against apartheid. In accordance with his conviction, Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island.

In South Africa he is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. The title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela supported reconciliation and negotiation, and helped lead the transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa. Since the end of apartheid, many have frequently praised Mandela, including former opponents. Mandela has received more than one hundred awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/nelson...

Reviews

[Jim]

“By providing the primary material of these 31 speeches and by adding a biographical sketch, a chronology of events 1990–93, and a glossary of South African political figures and organizations, editor Clark has made available Mandela’s recent public record for both contemporary analysts and for future students who want to understand how South Africa managed the relatively peaceful transition from Apartheid to a democratic non-racial South Africa …. General, undergraduate.”—Choice

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this collection of speeches higher,but a more up-to-date accounting of the struggle and end of Apartheid can be found in his lengthy but worthy autobiography, which I have listed among my 30 favorites. If you are interested in the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa in all its stages, add this book to your collection.

[Shiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book conveys the journey of South Africa through one if its toughest periods of uncertainty. Nelson Mandela has just been released after 27 years in prison and the African National Congress has just been accepted as a legitimate body in the country, after 30 years of illegitimacy. It is the story of the end of apartheid and the rise of democracy in South Africa, all through speeches given by Nelson Mandela over the four years leading upto the democratic government. The speeches, along with their introductions and the annotations present a fair picture of the way things stood and the role of the world in the struggle against apartheid. The great part about this book is that everything is being told in the words of Mandela himself. It was a great read and is a necessity to understand the liberal changes occuring in the world today.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leer este libro es pasar por la vida del Sr.Mandela cuando era enjuiciado por su propio gobierno, el cual en ningún sentido representaba el pensar de su pueblo.

Mandela siempre lucho por su patria, su gente, su tradición, su liberta, su país. Nada lo detuvo, ningun tipo de adversidad, por mas grande que esta fuera.

Mandela fue y ha sido un hombre de grandes y altos principios que siempre los reflejo y mostró al mundo.
Las personas de ahora, especialmente las de mi país, debemos tomar a Mandela como gran ejemplo de líder y ser humano, que da todo solo esperando a cambio el bien colectivo de su gente.

"...hemos aprendido a considerar al hombre blanco como un ser humano despiadado y severo, cuyo desprecio por nuestros derechos, y cuya total indiferencia por promover nuestro bienestar, hace que las garantías que nos dan sean absolutamente insignificantes e hipócritas." PAG.24

"...porque para los hombres, la libertad en su propia tierra es la cumbre de sus ambiciones, de la cual nada puede disuadir su convicción". PAG. 64

"ODIO LA PRACTICA DE LA DISCRIMINACIÓN RACIAL Y ME SOSTIENE EL HECHO DE QUE LA ABRUMADORA MAYORÍA DE LA HUMANIDAD LA ODIA IGUALMENTE". PAG.``64

ODIO COMO SE INCULCA SISTEMÁTICAMENTE A LOS NINOS EL PERJUICIOS RACIAL Y ME SOSTIENE EL HECHO DE QUE LA ABRUMADORA MAYORÍA DE LA HUMANIDAD, AQUÍ Y EN EL EXTRANJERO, COINCIDEN CONMIGO."

"HE CUMPLIDO PARA CON MI DEBER Y SUDÁFRICA. NO TENGO LA MENOR DUDA DE QUE LA POSTERIDAD PROCLAMARA QUE YO ERA INOCENTE, Y QUE LOS CRIMINALES QUE DEBERÍAN HABER SIDO TRAÍDOS ANTE ESTA CORTE SON LOS MIEMBROS DEL GOBIERNO vERWOERD". PAG. 64

"HAY DOS MODOS DE SALIR DE LA POBREZA. EL PRIMERO ES POR LA EDUCACIÓN FORMAL, Y EL SEGUNDO ES EL DEL TRABAJADOR QUE ADQUIERE UNA MAYOR HABILIDAD EN SU TRABAJO Y CON ELLO SALARIOS SUPERIOR.PARA LOS AFRICANOS, ESTOS DOS CAMINOS DE PROGRESO ESTÁN DELIBERADAMENTE LIMITADOS POR LA LEGISLACIÓN".PAG. 92

ESPERO SE MOTIVEN A LEERLO. ES UN BUEN MATERIAL PARA SABER LA LUCHA DE UN HOMBRE PARA LIBERAR A SU PUEBLO. AQUÍ VEMOS QUE NO SE NECESITA QUE SEAMOS RICO, ADINERADOS CON PODER. SOLO NECESITAMOS UN SUENO, UNA CHISPA, UN DESEO, UN IDEAL, UN OBJETIVO, PARA PROPICIAR EL CAMBIO QUE QUEREMOS VER EN LA SOCIEDAD EN QUE VIVIMOS.
OJALA EL DOMINICANO LEYERA A MANDELA.

[Marc Lichtman · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Mandela died, the "journal of record," the New York Times at first had a title that claimed the founder of the armed wing of the ANC was an "advocate of non-violence." While the Spear of the Nation never really got off the ground, and frequently ended up just being a small terrorist organization, it had a symbolic value, and Mandela wasn't about to end it without some real progress in the negotiations.

There's a movie version of Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom that makes it appear that the actions of the masses were interfering with Mandela's negotiations! This book shows the lies in that. He was encouraging them all the way, only occasionally giving criticism, as with the "necklacing," and putting a stop to the battle against Inkatha, which had stopped being anything more than tit-for-tat violence. These are inspiring speeches, and they pushed the mass movement forward, not back.

Highlights include the February 11, 1990 speech in Cape Town after his release from prison, the July 26, 1991 speech he gave in Cuba, his message to the South African Jewish community on Passover of 1992, and his July 10, 1993 speech to the NAACP convention in Indianapolis.

For his earlier speeches, see The Struggle is My Life.