“I am the captain of my soul.”

“I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE AND THE CAPTAIN OF MY DESTINY.”

“I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope.”

“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.”

“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

“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.”

“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”