Summary

Barack Obama begins his speech by thanking the audience and the guests attending Nelson Mandela’s memorial service.

Obama claims it is hard to pay tribute to a great man like Nelson Mandela and argues that Mandela’s struggles and victories belong to the people of South Africa.

He goes on to compare Mandela to other leaders and activists, including Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, and the American Founding Fathers. He argues that it is easy to think of Mandela as an icon, but that what truly makes him great is the fact that he admitted to his own imperfections and that he succeeded in his struggles despite all the odds being against him.

Obama describes how Mandela fought for his ideals by channeling and organizing his anger and by accepting the consequences of his actions, being willing to die for the cause of racial equality. The speake...