"I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man."

"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."

"Long Walk to Freedom is not a book; it is a pilgrimage."

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

"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."