“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison,” – Nelson Mandela, proof that the final form of love is forgiveness.

(About the New Yorker cover: The cover is entitled, “Madiba,” Mandela’s tribal name, and is the artwork of author and artist Kadir Nelson. Nelson, who has illustrated a children’s book on Mandela, told the New Yorker that he drew this cover to reflect a young Mandela “during the time that he was on trial with over a hundred of his comrades.”

“I wanted to make a simple and bold statement about Mandela and his life as a freedom fighter,” he said. “The raised fist and the simple, stark palette reminded me of posters and anti-apartheid imagery of the nineteen-eighties. This painting is a tribute to the struggle for freedom from all forms of discrimination, and Nelson’s very prominent role as a leader in the anti-apartheid movement.” — Thanks to the Huffington Post)