We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
The curious beauty of African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad tale. You may be poor, you may have only a ramshackle house, you may have lost your job, but that song gives you hope.
Interpretation
What this quote means
African music has a unique ability to inspire hope despite depicting sadness or hardship.
This quote by Nelson Mandela highlights the profound impact of African music, which, while often narrating tales of struggle and sorrow, simultaneously instills a sense of hope and beauty in its listeners. It suggests that music can transcend difficult circumstances, offering solace and uplifting the human spirit even in times of despair.
Themes
African MusicHopeSad TaleBeautyUplifting
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a cultural festival, one might quote Mandela to illustrate the resilience of the human spirit through music.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes →What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Nelson MandelaRead
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
Nelson MandelaRead
We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
Nelson MandelaRead
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
Nelson MandelaRead
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson MandelaRead
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