I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Respect, Respectability
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Give, Freedom, Body
If I have a cup of coffee that is too strong for me because it is too black, I weaken it by pouring cream into it. I integrate it with cream. If I keep pouring enough cream in the coffee, pretty soon the entire flavor of the coffee is changed; the very nature of the coffee is changed. If enough cream is poured in, eventually you don’t even know that I had coffee in this cup. This is what happened with the March on Washington. The whites didn’t integrate it; they infiltrated it. Whites joined it; they engulfed it; they became so much a part of it, it lost its original flavor. It ceased to be a black march; it ceased to be militant; it ceased to be angry; it ceased to be impatient. In fact, it ceased to be a march.
—Malcolm X
Don’t be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn’t do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Equality
History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Animals
Sitting at the table doesn’t make you a diner, unless you eat some of what’s on that plate. Being here in America doesn’t make you an American. Being born here in America doesn’t make you an American.
—Malcolm X
Topics: America
My Alma mater was books, a good library… I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Curiosity, Books, Libraries
One of the biggest troubles of colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty raiding, fraternities and boola-boola and all of that.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Education
It’s just like when you’ve got some coffee that’s too black, which means it’s too strong. What do you do? You integrate it with cream, you make it weak. But if you pour too much cream in it, you won’t even know you ever had coffee. It used to be hot, it becomes cool. It used to be strong, it becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to sleep.
—Malcolm X
Any person who claims to have deep feeling for other human beings should think a long, long time before he votes to have other men kept behind bars – caged. I am not Saying there shouldn’t be prisons, but there shouldn’t be bars. Behind bars, a man never reforms. He will never forget. He never will get completely over the memory of the bars.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Rationality
When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won’t do to get it, or what he doesn’t believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn’t believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire… or preserve his freedom.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Freedom
The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Preparation
Nonviolence is fine as long as it works.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Violence, Obedience
You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or who says it.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Truth, Patriotism
You show me a capitalist, and I’ll show you a bloodsucker.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Greed
I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won’t let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Freedom
Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Education
You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Freedom
The only way we’ll get freedom for ourselves is to identify ourselves with every oppressed people in the world. We are blood brothers to the people of Brazil, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba—yes Cuba too.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Freedom
We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Right, Rightness
I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don’t believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn’t want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I’m not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn’t know how to return the treatment.
—Malcolm X
If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Violence
You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Freedom
It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now it’s more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go and suck anybody’s blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, the capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It’s only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Capitalism
The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Media
It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks. It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law.
—Malcolm X
In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Value
A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Purpose
Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Oppression, Defense
If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word “freedom” out of your vocabulary.
—Malcolm X
Topics: Freedom
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- Whitney Young American Civil Rights Leader
- Billy Graham American Baptist Religious Leader
- Mary Baker Eddy American Christian Science Religious Leader
- David O. McKay American Mormon Religious Leader
- Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi Persian Muslim Mystic
- Gordon B. Hinckley American Mormon Religious Leader
- Marion G. Romney American Mormon Religious Leader
- Marvin J. Ashton American Mormon Religious Leader
- James Gibbons American Catholic Religious Leader
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