I Am Prepared to Die

"I Am Prepared to Die" was a three-hour speech given by Nelson Mandela on 20 April 1964 from the dock at the Rivonia Trial.[1] The speech is so titled because it ended with the words "it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die". It is considered one of the great speeches of the 20th century, and a key moment in the history of South African democracy.[2][3]

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But my lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

— Nelson Mandela, at the conclusion of his speech[4]
  1. ^ "The History Place – Great Speeches Collection: Nelson Mandela Speech – I am Prepared to Die". historyplace.com. 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  2. ^ Owen Collins, ed. (1999). Speeches that Changed the World. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664221492.
  3. ^ Clarkson, Carrol (2014). Drawing the line: towards an aesthetics of transnational justice. Fordham University Press. pp. 84–86. ISBN 9780823254156.
  4. ^ Mandela, Nelson. "I am prepared to die". Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Nelson Mandela Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2013.