The quotations of

Malcolm X

American Black rights activist

1925–1965

26 quotes, most often on Freedom, Race and America.

A man only curses because he doesn’t know the words to express what is on his mind.
- Talking
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.
Speech in Cleveland, Ohio (April 3, 1964)
- America
It’s going to be the ballot or the bullet.
“The Ballot or the Bullet” speech (1964)
- Guns
- Voting
Armed with the knowledge of our past, we can with confidence charter a course for our future. Culture is an indispensable weapon in the freedom struggle. We must take hold of it and forge the future with the past.
Speech at Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (28 June 1964), as quoted in By Any Means Necessary (1970)
- Freedom
- History
It’s impossible for a white person to believe in capitalism and not believe in racism. You can’t have capitalism without racism.
May 29, 1964
- Economics
- Race
You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom; then you’ll get it. It’s the only way you’ll get it.
Advice to the Youth of Mississippi (December 31, 1964)
- Freedom
Time is on the side of the oppressed today, it’s against the oppressor. Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it’s against the oppressor. You don’t need anything else.
Malcolm X Speaks (1965)
- Justice
- Time
Power never takes a back step — only in the face of more power.
Malcolm X Speaks (1965)
- Power
People don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), p. 400
- Reading
Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression.
Malcolm X Speaks (1965), p. 158
- Freedom
- Power
You can’t separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
Speech in New York City (7 January 1965)
- Freedom
- War & Peace
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.
Malcolm X Speaks (1965), p. 111
- Freedom
- Justice
Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.
Malcolm X Speaks (1965), p. 12
- Advice
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 Speaks (1965)
- Anger
- Change
I am not a racist. 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.
By Any Means Necessary (1970)
- Race

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