1

Malcolm X (May 19,1925 February 21,1965) was born Malcolm

Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Malcolm
was a respected Muslim minister and human rights activist. He
was orphaned early in life. His father was killed when he was six
years old and his mother was submitted to a mental hospital just
seven years later.
Despite the struggles he endured growing up, Malcolm eventually
went on to become one of the most respected leaders in the
history of the world. He is known throughout the world for
teaching black independence and fighting for the freedom and
civil rights of his people.

There is a little Malcolm in all of us, and these are 10 Malcolm X

quotes that can get you through the day:

1. Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody

can give you equality or justice or
anything. If you're a man, you take it.
Interpretation:
African
Americans must never fall
for the myth that equality
can be granted to us by
asking for it. The world is
competitive and in order to
get something you want,
you must be willing to fight
for it. This means being
the best that you can be,
standing up for what you believe in, engaging in collective
economics and working for your community.
For men, it means being the leaders that the black community
needs: Intelligent, responsible, economically self-sufficient and
brave. Black women should provide their own version of strength
in such a way that it protects and preserves the black family. This
is how we can get ahead, only by working together. Never let
things like affirmative action convince you that black people can
get ahead without being able to compete on the global stage. This
is extremely important.

2. 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 the
next time.
Without struggle, there
is typically no progress.
A butterfly must struggle
in order to break out of
his cocoon.
A baby
must struggle to get out
of the womb. You have
to struggle to get
through school or get in
shape at the gym. All of
the difficult and stressful
challenges we endure
in life are part of Gods
training camp.
This
camp prepares us for
the future, and makes
us better and more
capable than we were
before.
Also with each struggle is the opportunity to learn. The best way
to salvage benefits from a setback is to learn from it so that you
can do a better job the next time around. Dont allow the world to
make you weak. You are strong and capable. Now go for it!

3. Education is the passport to the future,

for tomorrow belongs to those who
prepare for it today.
Education is the most
valuable asset that you carry
with you in life. We live in a
digital age, where learning is
taking place at a rapid-fire
pace.
Therefore, it is
essential that you not take for
granted the opportunity to
learn whenever you can.
Education is also a shield
that protects you from those
seeking to exploit you or do
harm to those you love.
There have been numerous
conspiratorial plots over time
to take advantage of the
disenfranchised in America,
and education/knowledge are
the best ways to protect
yourself.
Also, remember that you dont have to go to school in order to get
a good education. You can learn anything you want to know by
studying on the Internet. You also have to know the difference
between going to school and actually becoming a truly educated
person.
Many African Americans are miseducated or
indoctrinated at school, going through life believing that they
understand a lot, when they may understand very little. Get
plenty of education, keep getting it throughout your life and dont
get it all in an Americanized classroom. Learn the things you
need to be successful.

4. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law,

respect everyone; but if someone puts
his hand on you, send him to the
cemetery.
Being peaceful and
courteous is symptomatic
of your degree of dignity
as a human being.
Respecting others is
extremely important. But
there are times when
peace is no longer the
appropriate response,
especially if you are
under attack. With this
statement, Malcolm is
making it clear that it is
not wise or ethical to
attack another human
being without
provocation. But once
youve been physically
attacked yourself, you are
within your moral right to
respond forcefully.
Putting someone in the
cemetery may simply be
a figure of speech, but a message is sent when you stand up for
yourself. People typically respect you if they know youre serious
about defending the people you love. Dont be a coward.

5. If you don't stand for something you will

fall for anything.
If you go through life without knowing who you are, there is
always someone out there who would like to tell you. But the
problem is that they will take your permeable psyche and make
you into an image of themselves. This can leave you vulnerable
to manipulation, harm and sabotage by those seeking to exploit
you for their own personal gain.
So, Malcolm is telling
you plainly to stand for
something! If people
know that you already
stand for something,
they are less likely to
try to take advantage of
you. One good
example might be the
mindset of a pimp.
Does a pimp seek out
employees who are
confident, educated
and self-aware? No,
they seek out people
who are spiritually lost,
struggling, and
insecure. Well, the
pimp analogy is universal, since there are pimps everywhere you
look: At church, in corporate America, and in your personal life.
So, make sure that you know who you are, so that these people
will not use you as their next target.

6. 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.
What Malcolm is talking about here is self-respect. This is a
simple idea, but
one that many
black people
struggle with.
When youve been
treated as a
second-class
citizen for so many
years, its difficult
to suddenly wake
up and feel that
you are worthy of
equal treatment.
But Malcolm is
telling you that you
are somebody and youre worthy of being treated with dignity.
Never bow to someone who doesnt respect you. Never
apologize for being who you are. Never hold your head down in
shame. Demand that others treat you with the dignity you
deserve. If they do not, then you owe them absolutely nothing.

7. I don't even call it violence when it's in selfdefense; I call it intelligence.

This quote typically has non-physical interpretations, since we
fortunately live in an era where violence isnt typically necessary
for us to fight for our rights. The primary exceptions are in
situations that involve either racial violence or police brutality.

Often-times, the black person who defends himself/herself is

called an angry black man or angry black woman. We are
often shamed away from defending ourselves politically,
physically or even financially. This is nonsense, and nothing
more than a ploy to keep us defenseless by making us
embarrassed to stand up for our rights.
Some refer to black anger against racist whites as reverse
racism. This is a silly idea, because our outrage would not have
occurred had whites not spent hundreds of years hurting the
people we love. Dont let people play these mind games with you.
efend your community, and dont be afraid to be angry.
Sometimes, there is something to be angry about.

8. If you have no critics you'll likely have no

success.
One of the
great barriers
to personal
achievement
is fear. Often
times, this
fear comes
from fear of
failure or
criticism.
Criticism is
difficult to accept, since it hits us in a very personal place. But the
problem is that if you allow this fear to cripple you, youll find your
dreams dying a slow and painful death.
Dont let this happen to you. Go into the lions den and dont be
afraid to tell the world that youre right. The deeper you go, the
more the haters will rise up to confront you. The most success
you have, the more arrows will be thrown at your head. But the
key is to allow your energy to be driven more by passion and
desire than by fear of failure. When fear is guiding you, youre
always thinking about the worst that can happen. But when
passion is your guide, youre thinking about the best things that
can happen. Holding onto passion and desire can make all the
difference later on, when times start to get tough.
In other words, GO-FOR-IT.

10

9. You can't hate the roots of a tree and not

hate the tree. You can't hate Africa and
not hate yourself.
For hundreds of years, black people have been taught to hate
every part of ourselves. Weve been taught to hate Africa. Weve
been taught to hate dark skin. Weve been taught to hate dark
people. This brainwashing has been consistent and extremely
powerful. It leads to violence, a lack of unity and many other
detrimental phenomena that have continued to corrupt our souls
and destroy our communities.
Start by re-programming yourself. Re-learn your history so that
its not filled with European thought. Join causes that relate to the
continent of Africa and the African American community. Take
the time to study African history and countries from sources other
than your public school teacher. When you study who you are
and where you came from, youll find that your people are greater
than you could ever even imagine.

11

10. You can't separate peace from freedom

because no one can be at peace unless
he has his freedom.
Raise a little hell for the things that you believe in and dont be
afraid of what people are going to think. One of the greatest
weapons of the oppressor is the fear of the oppressed. There are
times when we are
ostracized for doing what
is right. We are also told
that being too radical will
get us into trouble with
white people. While you
certainly have to choose
your battles, you must
also realize that there is
typically no progress
without struggle.
When one is making the
decision on whether or
not to fight, he is
confronted
with
two
inconvenient possibilities:
1) He can risk the losses
that come with fighting for
his freedom, or 2) he can die a sad and lonely spiritual death by
submitting to the forces that oppress him. So, no matter how you
look at it, either outcome is going to be difficult. Our ancestors
only made progress because they werent afraid of becoming
trouble makers. So, go make some trouble in your own life so
you can clear a better path for your children. Thats the sacrifice
that Malcolm X made for us.