Nelson Mandela

Living South Africa, the Rainbow Nation,
my last modest loving thought goes to beloved Madiba, 
NELSON MANDELA, the Man and the Statesman

I have fought against white domination,
and I have fought against black domination. 

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society
in which all persons will live together in harmony
with equal opportunities. 

It is an ideal which I hope to live for,
and to see realised.
But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal
for which I am prepared to die.

 
Nelson Mandela, defence statement during the Rivonia Trial, 1964.
Also repeated during the closing of his speech delivered in Cape Town
on the day he was released from prison 27 years later, on 11 February 1990