"Strijdom! Stop and think for you have aroused the wrath of the women of South Africa and that wrath might put you and your evil deeds out of action sooner than you expect."

"The most potent weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."

"With confidence we lay our case open before the whole world. Whether we conquer or whether we die: freedom shall rise in Africa like the sun from the morning clouds"

"After being a man of the world, I have discovered there is no Zulu, Xhosa, Mosotho or Coloured, but all are and must be known as Africans."

"I like to say, quite long ago my forefathers extended a hand of friendship to people of Europe when they came to that continent. What has happened to the extension of that hand only history can say, but I would like to say, as I receive this prize of peace, that the hand of Africa was extended. It was a hand of friendship, if you read history."

"This work is not for yourselves kill that spirit of self and do not live above your people, but live with them. If you can rise, bring someone with you."

"I am the product of the masses of my country and the product of my enemy"

"Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth."

"A few days ago one of the nicer warders got talking to me and said he wondered why I got mixed up in all this business, meaning politics generally. How does one explain to a chap like him that to live a life of humiliation and without dignity is not worth living"