The above image is the notes that Mandela took as the President of South Africa at his first Parliamentary meeting. He was the first black South African president and was sworn in as the President to an audience of 1 billion viewers globally (The Nelson Mandela Foundation). In an eloquent statement issued on December 6th, 2013, The First Lady, Michelle Obama, said “while very few of us will ever encounter the kind of discrimination and brutality that Nelson Mandela endured, all of us can learn lessons from his struggle. We can learn about the importance of standing up for what you believe in, no matter what the cost. We can learn about how, with self-discipline and courage, we can overcome the most unthinkable hardships. And we can learn about power of forgiveness to turn enemies into friends and help us move forward from a troubled past to a more hopeful future.”