60+ South Africa's Freedom Day quotes, messages, wishes, facts

Freedom Day in South Africa is an annual public celebration marked on the 27th of April every year. On this day in 1994, the country held its first democratic elections, and for the first time, blacks had voting rights. Discover inspiring and powerful South Africa's Freedom Day quotes, messages, and wishes to share with friends.

Key takeaways

• SA's Freedom Day is an annual celebration held on 27 April in South Africa.
• Freedom Day commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994.
• It also marks the day on which the new constitution was introduced.
• South Africa's Freedom Day quotes can help you mark this important day.

South Africa's Freedom Day quotes, messages, wishes, & facts

The apartheid rule is considered one of the greatest crimes against humanity. Black South Africans had limited to zero rights while supremacy had all the privileges.

South Africa's Freedom Day is an important day that reminds citizens about the long walk to freedom fought by the country's founding fathers and mothers.

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Here are 60+ South Africa's Freedom Day quotes in English to mark the historical event that continues to change the lives of South Africans.

Nelson Mandela quotes about freedom and change

There are many Nelson Mandela quotes on change and freedom that you can use to mark this important date in South Africa's history.

• For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
• I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.
• There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
• There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
• As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.
• I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.
• I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.
• As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.
• It is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.
• During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. 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 live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
• 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.
• 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.

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Nelson Mandela quotes on leadership and success

Below is a collection of Nelson Mandela quotes on success and leadership you can use to mark Freedom Day.

• Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.
• Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.
• Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.
• Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation.
• It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.
• I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.
• 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.
• A leader is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.
• Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.
• Quitting is leading too.
• It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.
• Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly.

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Nelson Mandela quotes about life and education

Check out these Nelson Mandela quotes on education and life in general.

• A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.
• It always seems impossible until it's done.
• 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.
• Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
• One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.
• It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.
• Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.
• There is a universal respect and even admiration for those who are humble and simple by nature, and who have absolute confidence in all human beings irrespective of their social status.
• After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
• Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer.
• In judging our progress as individuals we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one's social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education. These are, of course, important in measuring one's success in material matters and it is perfectly understandable if many people exert themselves mainly to achieve all these. But internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's development as a human being. Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others - qualities which are within reach of every soul - are the foundation of one's spiritual life.
• Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.
• I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

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South Africa's Freedom Day quotes in English

Below are famous quotes that you can use on Freedom Day.

• Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
• A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.
• I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now and will do so until the end of my days.
• We must use time creatively, and forever realise that the time is always ripe to do right.
• Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.
• I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonouring them.
• 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 can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.
• When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.
• The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.
• Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savour their songs.
• There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.

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Nelson Mandela quotes about love and peace

Check out this collection of quotes on peace and love. If you are looking for South Africa's Freedom Day quotes for students, these options could even form the basis for your paper.

• What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
• Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.
• I love playing and chatting with children…feeding and putting them to bed with a little story, and being away from the family has troubled me throughout my…life. I like relaxing at the house, reading quietly, taking in the sweet smell that comes from the pots, sitting around a table with the family and taking out my wife and children. When you can no longer enjoy these simple pleasures something valuable is taken away from your life and you feel it in your daily work.
• Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.
• 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.
• If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
• You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.
• Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.
• We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.

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Funny South Africa's Freedom Day quotes

Here is a collection of funny quotes you can use on Freedom Day.

• Remember the good old days when we had to wait in line for the right to vote? It was a real democracy, you see! - A South African citizen
• I'm not saying apartheid was a good thing, but at least we had really good, organized traffic jams. - Nelson Mandela
• Freedom Day? More like 'Free-dom Day' in some areas... still working on some of the finer details of freedom! - A South African comedian
• Apartheid was a tough pill to swallow, but at least we learned how to queue for everything! - A South African observer
• I still have a lot to learn about freedom, but I've mastered the art of making a braai! So, yeah, we're doing okay. - A South African homeowner

South Africa's Freedom Day quotes about apartheid

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There are many South Africa's Freedom Day quotes about apartheid. These quotes are from different people and they emphasise the importance and benefits of freedom.

• In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. - Desmond Tutu
• Abhorrence of apartheid is a moral attitude, not a policy. - Edward Heath
• We had to forge an alliance of strength based not on colour but on commitment to the total abolition of apartheid and oppression; we would seek allies, of whatever colour, as long as they were totally agreed on our liberation aims. - Oliver Tambo
• It dawned on me then that you either had to survive apartheid, or you had to perish with it. And I decided to survive. - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
• Everybody now admits that apartheid was wrong, and all I did was tell the people who wanted to know where I come from how we lived in South Africa. I just told the world the truth. And if my truth then becomes political, I can't do anything about that. - Miriam Makeba
• Our target is not negotiations, it is the end of the apartheid system. There can be no compromise about that. - Oliver Tambo
• I played an integral part in helpings formulating that new vision... that we must abandon apartheid and accept one united South Africa with equal rights for all, with all forms of discrimination to be scrapped from the statute book. - F. W. de Klerk
• Apartheid is a lie, people can work together, people can create together. - John Kani
• I will never regret not denouncing apartheid. - Zola Budd
• Economic, social, and other kinds of regional cooperation are not possible so long as there is apartheid. Therefore, it seems the duty of all mankind to destroy it. - Samora Machel
• The brutality of apartheid drains you of that emotion of fear if you have gone through everything you can be put through in the process of harassment. - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
• Apartheid - both petty and grand - is obviously evil. Nothing can justify the arrogant assumption that a clique of foreigners has the right to decide on the lives of a majority. - Steven Biko
• 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. - Nelson Mandela

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What is special about Freedom Day in South Africa?

Freedom Day in South Africa is special because it commemorates the first democratic elections held in SA on 27 April 1994.

What is Nelson Mandela's most famous quote?

There are many famous quotes by Nelson Mandela, but Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world is arguably the most famous one.

What is a good quote about South Africa?

There are many quotes about South Africa. Check out some of them from the list above.

What is a famous quote about apartheid?

There are many famous quotes about apartheid. Check some of them above.

South Africa's Freedom Day quotes are a great reminder of the first general elections that took place on 27 April 1994. The day marked an important milestone in SA's self-rule.

Briefly.co.za recently published all the details about the Day of Reconciliation in SA. The Day of Reconciliation is an annual public holiday in South Africa celebrated on 16 December.

It marks the momentous reunion of the country's black and white people, an integral part of its history. The Day of Reconciliation in South Africa monumentalizes the country's history and promotes reconciliation and national unity.

Source: Briefly News