Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. Many have called him one of the greatest, most influential African Americans in history.
To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism and violence.
We’ve put together this collection of the best Malcolm X quotes:
37 Malcolm X Quotes
1. “Change is only a good thing if you change in a good way.” – Malcolm X
2. “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
3. “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.” – Malcolm X
4. “Speaking like this doesn’t mean that we’re anti-white, but it does mean we’re anti-exploitation, we’re anti-degradation, we’re anti-oppression.” – Malcolm X
5. “We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.” – Malcolm X
6. “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Malcolm X
7. “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” – Malcolm X
8. “I am not a racist. In fact, I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.” – Malcolm X
9. “I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.” – Malcolm X
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10. “In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure.” – Malcolm X
11. “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.” – Malcolm X
12. “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
13. “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” – Malcolm X
14. “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
15. “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
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16. “Nonviolence is fine as long as it works.” – Malcolm X
17. “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
18. “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
19. “You show me a capitalist, and I’ll show you a bloodsucker.” – Malcolm X
20. “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
21. “I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.” – Malcolm X
22. “I want Dr. King to know that I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King.” – Malcolm X
23. “Stumbling is not falling.” – Malcolm X
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24. “They put your mind right in a bag, and take it wherever they want.” – Malcolm X
25. “Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.” – Malcolm X
26. “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
27. “My alma mater was books, a good library… I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” – Malcolm X
28. “Power never takes a step back except in the face of more power.” – Malcolm X
29. “Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.” – Malcolm X
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30. “Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or who says it.” – Malcolm X
31. “A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own self hood, it can never fulfill itself.” – Malcolm X
32. “Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom.” – Malcolm X
33. “I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else’s control. I feel that what I’m thinking and saying is now for myself.” – Malcolm X
34. “If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” – Malcolm X
35. “The thing that you have to understand about those of us in the Black Muslim movement was that all of us believed 100 percent in the divinity of Elijah Muhammad. We believed in him. We actually believed that God, in Detroit by the way, that God had taught him and all of that. I always believed that he believed in himself. And I was shocked when I found out that he himself didn’t believe it.” – Malcolm X
36. “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us.” – Malcolm X
37. “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
Summary
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