I am prepared to die: The impact of and lessons from Mandela’s speech 60 years later
By Opinion | Published May 6, 2024
It was an autumn day, on April 20, 1964, in South Africa when Mandela, from the dock of the Rivonia Trial, during the opening of the defence’s case, addressed the world. The address was dubbed in the media as “(an Ideal for which) I am prepared to die”. Over time, some scholars and historians were to regard the speech as one of the greatest in the 20th century.