Remembering Nelson Mandela:
“An ideal for which I am prepared to die”
Nelson Mandela, the first president of a democratic South Africa and a respected leader of the anti-apartheid movement, died at 95 after several months of health issues. Mandela joined the the African National Congress in 1943 and was sentenced to life in prison in 1964, after eight months of trial with seven others. Before the trial, Mandela made his iconic, impassioned speech — "An ideal for which I am prepared to die" — from the dock. Below is an excerpt of his speech.
A mural in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa shows Nelson Mandela as a young man. (EPA/Kim Ludbrook)
SOURCE: National Archives of South Africa.