On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first ever Black president of South Africa. While he did not write it as such, this excerpt from Mandela”s Inaugural speech has been widely quoted in poetic form and is one of the most stirring pieces of oratory poetry ever written.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves,
who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God;
your playing small
doesn”t serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking s
o that other people won”t feel
insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It”s not just in some of us;
it”s in everyone.

And as we let our light shine,
we unconsciously
give other people permission
to do the same. As we are liberated
from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.

-Nelson Mandela, May 10, 1994