Excerpt from Nelson Mandela's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

What would you say if you were accepting a prize for promoting world peace? See some of the words Nelson Mandela chose to humbly appeal to and inspire his audience.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 7 Unit 3's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Tangerine, A stunning tale of escape, To an Athlete Dying Young, Biography of Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Landmarks of Nelson Mandela's Life, Invictus, Playing the Enemy, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. commendation
    an official award given as formal public statement
    We do not believe that this Nobel Peace Prize is intended as a commendation for matters that have happened and passed.
  2. appeal
    earnest or urgent request
    We hear the voices which say that it is an appeal from all those, throughout the universe, who sought an end to the system of apartheid.
  3. unique
    radically distinctive and without equal
    We understand their call, that we devote what remains of our lives to the use of our country's unique and painful experience to demonstrate, in practice, that the normal condition for human existence is democracy, justice, peace
  4. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    non-racism, non-sexism, prosperity for everybody, a healthy environment and equality and solidarity among the peoples
  5. eminence
    high status importance owing to marked superiority
    Moved by that appeal and inspired by the eminence you have thrust upon us, we undertake that we too will do what we can to contribute to the renewal of our world
  6. wretched
    of very poor quality or condition
    so that none should, in future, be described as the "wretched of the earth".
  7. cynicism
    a pessimistic feeling of distrust
    Let it never be said by future generations that indifference, cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of humanism which the Nobel Peace Prize encapsulates.
  8. bound
    confined by bonds
    Let the strivings of us all, prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct, when he said that humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war.
  9. genuine
    not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed
    Let the efforts of us all, prove that he was not a mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.
  10. dawn
    appear or develop
    Let a new age dawn!
Created on Thu Sep 11 17:09:53 EDT 2014 (updated Thu Sep 11 18:07:23 EDT 2014)

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