Remembering Nelson Mandela
Each time our Area* classes meet, we have an ending-white-racism mini-session. Last night Barb Delzio brought these quotes from Nelson Mandela for us to read out loud before the mini:
“Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.”
“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
“Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.”
“A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
Marilyn McEnery
Danville, Vermont, USA
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list
for RC Community members
*An Area is a local RC Community.