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The Only Thing Power Respects, Is Power.
-Malcolm X
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The Only Thing Power

Malcolm X
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The Only Thing Power Respects, Is Power.

Understanding the Quote: "the only thing power respects, is power...."

This quote by Malcolm X reflects deeply on the theme of . It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under , the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Malcolm X interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Malcolm X

Malcolm X is celebrated for insightful thoughts on and motivation. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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As Long As The Factories Are In The Hands Of The Whites, The Housing Is In The Hands Of The Whites, The School System Is In The Hands Of The Whites, You Have A Situation Where The Blacks Are Constantly Begging The Whites Can They Use This Or Can They Use That. That's Not Any Kind Of Equality Of Opportunity, Nor Does It Lend Toward One's Dignity.
School
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That Value System Has Been Handed Right Down In European Society. And Today When You Find Negroes, If They Even Look Like They're Adopting These So-called Middle-class Values, Standards, It's Not That They Are Taking Something From The White Man, But They Are Probably Identifying Again With The Level Or Standard That These Same Whites Have Gotten From Them Back During That Period.
Men
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Class
Whenever You're Going After Something That Belongs To You, Anyone Who's Depriving You Of The Right To Have It Is A Criminal. Understand That. Whenever You Are Going After Something That Is Yours, You Are Within Your Legal Rights To Lay Claim To It. And Anyone Who Puts Forth Any Effort To Deprive You Of That Which Is Yours, Is Breaking The Law, Is A Criminal.
Law
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Now, You Integration-minded Negroes Are Trying To Force Yourselves On Your Former Slave Master, Trying To Make Him Accept You In His Drawing Room; You Want To Hang Out With His Women Rather Than The Women Of Your Own Kind.
Drawing
Trying
Want
Not Long Ago, An English Writer Telephoned Me From London, Asking Questions. One Was "what's Your Alma Mater?" I Told Him, "books." You Will Never Catch Me With A Free Fifteen Minutes In Which I'm Not Studying Something I Feel Might Be Able To Help The Black Man.
Book
Men
Asking Questions
I've Never Seen A Sincere White Man, Not When It Comes To Helping Black People. Usually Things Like This Are Done By White People To Benefit Themselves. The White Man's Primary Interest Is Not To Elevate The Thinking Of Black People, Or To Waken Black People, Or White People Either. The White Man Is Interested In The Black Man Only To The Extent That The Black Man Is Of Use To Him. The White Man's Interest Is To Make Money, To Exploit.
Men
Thinking
White Man
Many Of Them Who Belong To These Countries That Were Former Colonial Powers Have Racist Attitudes, But Their Racist Attitude Is Never Displayed To The Degree That The America's Attitude Of Racism Is Displayed. Never.
Country
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Today's Uncle Tom Doesn't Wear A Handkerchief On His Head. This Modern, Twentieth-century Uncle Thomas Now Often Wears A Top Hat. He's Usually Well-dressed And Well-educated. He's Often The Personification Of Culture And Refinement. The Twentieth-century Uncle Thomas Sometimes Speaks With A Yale Or Harvard Accent. Sometimes He Is Known As Professor, Doctor, Judge, And Reverend, Even Right Reverend Doctor. This Twentieth-century Uncle Thomas Is A Professional Negro -by That I Mean His Profession Is Being A Negro For The White Man.
Uncles
Mean
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For 12 Long Years I Lived Within The Narrow-minded Confines Of The 'straightjacket World' Created By My Strong Belief That Elijah Muhammad Was A Messenger Direct From God Himself, And My Faith In What I Now See To Be A Pseudo-religious Philosophy That He Preaches.... I Shall Never Rest Until I Have Undone The Harm I Did To So Many Well-meaning, Innocent Negroes Who Through My Own Evangelistic Zeal Now Believe In Him Even More Fanatically And More Blindly Than I Did.
Religious
Strong
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I'm Not Going To Sit At Your Table And Watch You Eat, With Nothing On My Plate, And Call Myself A Diner. Sitting At The Table Doesn't Make You A Diner.
African American
Watches
Sitting
In America You Have The Mouse Now Trying To Sit Down On The Elephant, Thinking That He's Going Somewhere. And It's - And It's Absurd.
Thinking
Elephants
America
Whenever Any Group Can Vote In A Bloc, And Decide The Outcome Of Elections, And It Fails To Do This, Then That Group Is Politically Sick.
Sick
Groups
Politics
I Have More Respect For A Man Who Lets Me Know Where He Stands, Even If He's Wrong, Than The One Who Comes Up Like An Angel And Is Nothing But A Devil.
Angel
Men
Devil
[jf] Kennedy Was A Deceitful Man. He Was A Cold-blooded Politician Whose Purpose Was To Get Elected.
Men
Purpose
Cold
After Four Hundred Years Of Slave Labor, We Have Some Back Pay Coming, A Bill Owed To Us That Must Be Collected.
Slave Labor
Years
African American
The Black Man In America Is The Same As The Jews Were In Bondage Under Pharaoh. We Are Strangers In A Land That Is Not Ours. We Are Rejected By This Type Of Modern Pharaoh Or Pharohnic Society.
Men
Land
America
I Was An Atheist, I Was Open-minded, And I Began To Read In That Direction, In The Direction Of Islam, And Everything That I Read About It Appealed To Me.
Atheist
Islam
Open Minded
I Am Not A Racist In Any Form Whatsoever. I Don't Believe In Any Form Of Discrimination Or Segregation.
Believe
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Discrimination
I Think That Any Black Man Who Teaches Black People To Turn The Other Cheek And Suffer Peacefully After They've Been Turning The Cheek And Suffering Peacefully For 400 Years In A Land Of Bondage, Under The Most Cruel, Inhuman And Wicked Slavemaster That Any People Have Ever Been Under, He Is Doing Those People An Injustice, And He's A Traitor To His Own People.
Men
Thinking
Years
I Look At The Problem Of The Twenty-two Million Afro-americans As Being A Problem That's So Broad In Scope That It's Almost Impossible For Any Organization To See It In Its Entirety.
Organization
Two
Twenties
The 22 Million Or 30 Million, Whatever The Case May Be, Afro-americans In The United States Were Still Africans.
United States
May
Afros
There Has To Be Something Wrong When A Man Or A Woman Leaves His Own People And Marries Somebody Of Another Kind.
Men
People
Kind
I Think The Only Way One Can Really Determine Whether Extremism In The Defense Of Liberty Is Justified, Is Not To Approach It As An American Or A European Or An African Or An Asian, But As A Human Being. If We Look Upon It As Different Types, Immediately We Begin To Think In Terms Of Extremism Being Good For One And Bad For Another, Or Bad For One And Good For Another. But If We Look Upon It, If We Look Upon Ourselves As Human Beings, I Doubt That Anyone Will Deny That Extremism In Defense Of Liberty, The Liberty Of Any Human Being, Is No Vice.
Thinking
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Revolution Is Based On Land. Land Is The Basis Of All Independence. Land Is The Basis Of Freedom, Justice, And Equality.
Land
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We Must Control The Politics And The Politicians Of Our Community. They Must No Longer Take Orders From Outside Forces. We Will Organize, And Sweep Out Of Office All Negro Politicians Who Are Puppets For The Outside Forces.
Order
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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.
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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.
Believe
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People
I Believe In Recognizing Every Human Being As A Human Being - Neither White, Black, Brown, Or Red.
Believe
White
Black
I Don't Encourage Any Act Of Murder Nor Do I Glorify In Anybody's Death, But I Do Think That When The White Public Uses Its Press To Magnify The Fact That There Are The Lives Of White Hostages At Stake, They Don't Say "hostages," Every Paper Says "white Hostages." They Give Me The Impression That They Attach More Importance To A White Hostage And A White Death, Than They Do The Death Of A Human Being, Despite The Color Of His Skin.
Thinking
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Color
The Political Philosophy Of Black Nationalism Means That The Black Man Should Control The Politics And The Politicians In His Own Community; No More.
Philosophy
Mean
Men
In The Past, Yes, I Have Made Sweeping Indictments Of All White People. I Never Will Be Guilty Of That Again - As I Know Now That Some White People Are Truly Sincere, That Some Truly Are Capable Of Being Brotherly Toward A Black Man. The True Islam Has Shown Me That A Blanket Indictment Of All White People Is As Wrong As When Whites Made Blanket Indictments Against Blacks.
Past
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If This Government Can Send 20 Billion Dollars To Latin America To Some Peasants Who Have Never Fought For This Country Or Worked For This Country Or Have - Or - And Is Sending Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars To Africa And Asia To Try And Buy Friendship Of People Who Will Never Be Friendly Toward Them, Then They Should Be Even More Quick To Spend Some - Whatever Amount Of Money Is Necessary To Get Inside Of Their House Straight, Before It's Too Late.
Country
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The Other Slaves In The Field Never Let That House Slave Knew - Know What They Were Really Thinking. If The House Slave Said, Well One Of These Days All Of Us Will Live In The Plantation, They Said, Uh Huh. They Went Along With Him. But If You Came Up To Them And Said, Let's Go, They Would Be Gone Just Like That.and In, In America You Have The Same Situation.you Have The Vast Masses Who Are Still Slaves.
Thinking
America
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Never Allow Your Enemies To Educate Your Children.
Children
Enemy
Educate
It Took The United States Army To Get One Negro Into The University Of Mississippi; It Took Troops To Get A Few Negroes In The White Schools At Little Rock And Another Dozen Places In The South.
School
Army
Rocks
I Think That Abraham Lincoln Probably Did More To Trick Negroes Than Any Other Man In History.
Men
Thinking
Tricks
Revolution Is Always Based On Land. Revolution Is Never Based On Begging Somebody For An Integrated Cup Of Coffee.
Coffee
Land
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[ Negro Leaders] Never Let The White Man Know Exactly What Black People Are Thinking.
Men
Thinking
White Man
You Don't Do Anything To Further Your Stay Aboard A Ship That You See Is Going To Go Down To The Bottom Of The Ocean.
Ocean
Ships
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When A Man Understands Who He Is, Who God Is, Who The Devil Is... Then He Can Pick Himself Up Out Of The Gutter; He Can Clean Himself Up And Stand Up Like A Man Should Before His God.
Men
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You Can Cuss Out Colonialism, Imperialism, And All Other Kinds Of Ism, But It's Hard For You To Cuss That Dollarism. When They Drop Those Dollars On You, Your Soul Goes.
Soul
Colonialism
Dollars
I See America Through The Eyes Of The Victim. I Don’t See Any American Dream; I See An American Nightmare.
Dream
Eye
America
You Spend So Much Time Barking Up The Civil-rights Tree, You Don't Even Know There's A Human-rights Tree On The Same Floor.
Rights
Tree
Humans
We Black Men Have A Hard Enough Time In Our Own Struggle For Justice, And Already Have Enough Enemies As It Is, To Make The Drastic Mistake Of Attacking Each Other And Adding More Weight To An Already Unbearable Load.
Mistake
Struggle
Men
Who Taught You To Hate Yourself?
Hate
Taught
Hating Yourself
To Have Once Been A Criminal Is No Disgrace. To Remain A Criminal Is The Disgrace
Criminals
Crime
Disgrace
Let's Cool It, Brothers.
Brother
Dying
Last Words
I Believe That A Psychological, Cultural, And Philosophical Migration Back To Africa Will Solve Our Problem.
Believe
Philosophical
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A Man Who Stands For Nothing Will Fall For Anything.
Wisdom
Peace
War
We Cannot Think Of Uniting With Others, Until After We Have First United Among Ourselves... One Can't Unite Bananas With Scattered Leaves.
Thinking
Uniting
Firsts
The People Listening Very Closely To What The Muslims Have Always Declared. They'll Find That In Every Declaration There's The Fact That, The Same As, As Moses Told Pharaoh, "you're Doomed If You Don't Do So And So," Or As Daniel Told, I Think It Was Balthazar Or Nebuchadnezzar, "you Are Doomed If You Don't Do So And So."
Thinking
People
Listening
Wrong Is Wrong, No Matter Who Does It Or Who Says It.
Truth
Patriotism
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Just Take The Negro Child. Take The White Child. The White Child, Although It Has Not Committed Any Of The Per - As A Person Has Not Committed Any Of The Deeds That Has Produced The Plight That The Negro Finds Himself In, Is He Guiltless? The Only Way You Can Determine That Is, Take The Negro Child Who's Only Four-years-old. Can He Escape, Though He's Only Four Years Old, Can He Escape The Stigma Of Discrimination And Segregation? He's Only Four-years-old.
Children
Years
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As I Say, If We Bring Up Religion We'll Have Differences; We'll Have Arguments; And We'll Never Be Able To Get Together.
Differences
Together
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Education Is Our Passport To The Future.
Education
First Day Of School
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I Believe In The Brotherhood Of All Men, But I Don't Believe In Wasting Brotherhood On Anyone Who Doesn't Want To Practice It With Me. Brotherhood Is A Two-way Street.
Believe
Men
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A Revolution Is Bloody. Revolution Is Hostile. Revolution Knows No Compromise. Revolution Overturns And Destroys Everything That Gets In Its Way. And You, Sitting Around Here Like A Knot On The Wall, Saying, “i’m Going To Love These Folks No Matter How Much They Hate Me.” No, You Need A Revolution. Whoever Heard Of A Revolution Where They Lock Arms, As Reverend Cleage Was Pointing Out Beautifully, Singing “we Shall Overcome”? Just Tell Me. You Don’t Do That In A Revolution. You Don’t Do Any Singing; You’re Too Busy Swinging.
Wall
Hate
Singing
I Believe That There Will Be Ultimately Be A Clash Between The Oppressed And Those Who 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 System Of Exploitation. I Believe That There Will Be That Kind Of Clash, But I Don't Think It Will Be Based On The Color Of The Skin.
Believe
Thinking
Color
How Can A Negro Say America Is His Nation? He Was Brought Here In Chains; He Was Put In Slavery An Worked Like A Mule For Three Hundred Years; He Was Separated From His Land, His Culture, His God, His Language!
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Land
America
The Negro Fought And Bled And Died In Every War The White Man Waged, And He Still Won't Give You Justice. You Nursed His Baby And Cleaned Behind His Wife, And He Still Won't Give You Freedom; You Turned The Other Cheek While He Lynched You And Raped Your Women, But He Still Won't Give You Equality.
Baby
War
Men
Most Of These Other Negro Leaders Who Are Supposedly Integrationists Aren't That Intelligent [like Reverend Galamison].
Intelligent
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No, I’m Not An American. I’m One Of The 22 Million Black People Who Are The Victims Of Americanism. One Of The … Victims Of Democracy, Nothing But Disguised Hypocrisy. So, I’m Not Standing Here Speaking To You As An American, Or A Patriot, Or A Flag-saluter, Or A Flag-waver - No, Not I. I’m Speaking As A Victim Of This American System. And I See America Through The Eyes Of The Victim. I Don’t See Any American Dream; I See An American Nightmare.
Dream
People
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Don't You Run Around Here Trying To Make Friends With Somebody Who's Depriving You Of Your Rights. They're Not Your Friends, No, They're Your Enemies. Treat Them Like That.
Running
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People Involved In A Revolution Don't Become Part Of The System; They Destroy The System... The Negro Revolution Is No Revolution Because It Condemns The System And Then Asks The System It Has Condemned To Accept Them.
People
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Accepting
I Remember One Night At Muzdalifa With Nothing But The Sky Overhead I Lay Awake Amid Sleeping Muslim Brothers And I Learned That Pilgrims From Every Land--every Color, And Class, And Rank; High Officials And The Beggar Alike--all Snored In The Same Language.
Brother
Sleep
Night
If You Have A Dog, I Must Have A Dog. If You Have A Rifle, I Must Have A Rifle. If You Have A Club, I Must Have A Club. This Is Equality.
Dog
Clubs
Rifles
You Have, You Can Only Answer It This Way: By Turning It Around. Can The Negro - Who Is The Victim Of The System - Escape The Collective Stigma That Is Placed Upon All Negroes In This Country?
Country
Answers
Way
I'm Sorry To Say That The Subject I Most Disliked Was Mathematics. I Have Thought About It. I Think The Reason Was That Mathematics Leaves No Room For Argument. If You Made A Mistake, That Was All There Was To It.
Sorry
Mistake
Math
This Is A God-given Right Of Any Man.anytime You Have A Man Who Is Getting Lynched, And What Are His People Supposed To Do? Sit Around And Forgive The Lyncher Or Wait On The United States Government To Go In And Get The Lyncher, Like The United States Government Did In The Case Of, Of Charles Mack Parker, And The Fbi Found Who Were The Guilty Lynchers, And Right To This Day, The Fbi, The Highest Law Enforcement Body In The Land, Has Yet To Bring The Lynchers Of Mack Parker To Justice?
Men
Law
Land
You Don't Have A Revolution In Which You Love Your Enemy, And You Don't Have A Revolution In Which You Are Begging The System Of Exploitation To Integrate You Into It. Revolutions Overturn Systems. Revolutions Destroy Systems.
Love You
Enemy
Revolution
[black Nationalism] Is Not Designed To Make The Black Man Reevaluate The White Man--you Know Him Already--but To Make The Black Man Re-evaluate Himself. Don't Change The White Man's Mind; You Can't Change His Mind. And That Whole Thing About Appealing To The Moral Conscience Of America--america's Conscience Is Bankrupt.
Men
White Man
America
Any Time You Know You're Within The Law, Within Your Legal Rights, Within Your Moral Rights, In Accord With Justice, Then Die For What You Believe In. But Don't Die Alone. Let Your Dying Be Reciprocal. This Is What Is Meant By Equality. What's Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander.
Believe
Law
Rights
One Day, May We All Meet Together In The Light Of Understanding.
Light
Understanding
One Day
It's Impossible For A White Person To Believe In Capitalism And Not Believe In Racism.
Believe
White
Racism
One Thing That The White Man Can Never Give The Black Man Is Self Respect. The Black Man In The Ghettos, Have To Start Self Correcting His Own Material Moral, And Spiritual Defects, And Evil. The Black Man Need To Start His Own Program To Get Rid Of Drunkenness, Drug Addiction And Prostitution. The Black Man In America Has To Lift Up His Own Sense Of Values.
Spiritual
Respect
Ghetto
If A White Man Puts His Arm Around Me Voluntarily, That's Brotherhood. But If You - If You Hold A Gun On Him And Make Him Embrace Me And Pretend To Be Friendly Or Brotherly Toward Me, Then That's Not Brotherhood, That's Hypocrisy. And What America Is Trying To Do Is Pass Laws To Force Whites To Pretend That They Want Negroes Into Their Schools Or Into - In Their Places Of Employment.
School
Men
Gun
You Don't Have To Be A Man To Fight For Freedom. All You Have To Do Is To Be An Intelligent Human Being.
Freedom
Fighting
Intelligent
The Cornerstones Of This Country's Operation Are Economic And Political Strength And Power. The Black Man Doesn't Have The Economic Strength - And It Will Take Time For Him To Build It. But Right Now The American Black Man Has The Political Strength And Power To Change His Destiny Overnight.
Country
Destiny
Men
To Me, The Thing That Is Worse Than Death Is Betrayal.
Betrayal
Betrayed
Betraying Friends
Any Way, Any Form Necessary To Defend Himself; Negro Should Reserve The Right To Do That Just The Same As Others Have The Right To Do It.
Way
Form
Should
My Alma Mater Was Books, A Good Library.
Book
Reading
Library
When You Mentioned Something About Self Improvement, The Implication Is That The Negro Is Something Distinct Or Different, And, Therefore, Needs To Learn How To Improve Himself. Negro Leaders Resent This Being Said, Not Because They Don't Know That It's True, But They're Thinking, They're Looking At It Personally. They Think That The Implication Is Directed Even At Them, And That They, And They Duck This Responsibility.
Responsibility
Thinking
Self
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.
Mean
White
Justice
Wyatt [ Walker] Doesn't Say That As Much As Whitney Young Does.
Doe
Young
Whitney
You Catch Any White Man Off Guard In Here Right Now, You Catch Him Off Guard And Ask Him What He Is, He Doesn't Say He's An American. He Either Tells You He's Irish, Or He's Italian, Or He's German, If You Catch Him Off Guard And He Doesn't Know What You're Up To. And Even Though He Was Born Here, He'll Tell You He's Italian. Well, If He's Italian, You And I Are African Even Though We Were Born Here.
Italian
Men
White Man
When You Have To Pass A Law To Make A Man Let Me Have A House, Or You Have To Pass A Law To Make A Man Let Me Go To School, Or You Have To Pass A Law To Make A Man Let Me Walk Down The Street, You Have To Enforce That Law And You'd Have To Be Living Actually In A Police State. It Would Take A Police State In This Country.
Country
School
Men
[my Half-sister] Ella And I Always Were Much Closer As Basic Types; We're Dominant People, And [my Other Half-sister] Mary Has Always Been Mild And Quiet, Almost Shy.
People
Shy
Half
Solve The Race Problem Here, And Once You Solve The Race Problem Here, You Don't Have To Send These Billions Of Dollars Abroad.
Race
Dollars
Problem
Once He [negro] Realizes That [he Is At War ], Then He Can Defend Himself.
War
Realizing
Whereas The Only Real Solution To The Race Problem In This Country Is A Solution That Involves Individual Self Improvement And Collective Self Improvement In, Whereas Our Own, Wherein Our Own People Are Concerned.
Country
Real
Race
It Is A Time For Martyrs Now, And If I Am To Be One, It Will Be For The Cause Of Brotherhood. That's The Only Thing That Can Save This Country.
Inspiring
Country
Brotherhood
I Believe When A Negro Church Is Bombed, That A White Church Should Be Bombed.
Believe
White
Church
Everything That Came Out Of Europe, Every Blue-eyed Thing, Is Already An American. And As Long As You And I Have Been Over Here, We Aren't Americans Yet.
Blue
Europe
Long
The Greatest Mistake Of The Movement Has Been Trying To Organize A Sleeping People Around Specific Goals. You Have To Wake The People Up First, Then You'll Get Action.
Mistake
Sleep
People
Any Time A Negro Community Lives Under Fear That Its Churches Are Going To Be Bombed, Then They Have To Realize They're Living In A War Zone.
War
Community
Church
The Number One Thing That Has To Be Done, [black Men] Has To Be Retaught, Be Given - He Has To Be Reeducated And Made To Know That He's A Man, Like Anyone Else, And Then He Can Stand On His Own Two Feet, Like Others Have Done.
Men
Two
Feet
God Is Going To Punish The White Man For His Misdeeds Toward Black People.
Men
White Man
People
I Had Blind Faith In Him. My Faith In Elijah Muhammad Was More Blind And More Uncompromising Than Any Faith That Any Man Has Ever Had For Another Man. And So I Didn't Try And See Him As He Actually Was.
Men
Trying
Blind
... Any County's Moral Strength, Or Its Moral Weakness, Is Quickly Measurable By The Street Attire And Attitude Of Its Women - Especially Its Young Women. Wherever ... Spiritual Values Have Been Submerged, If Not Destroyed, By An Emphasis Upon ... Material Things, Invariably The Women Reflect It.
Spiritual
Attitude
Weakness
White Individuals That Have Been Going To Jail. Segregation Still Exists; Discrimination Still Exists. A Few Isolated White People Whose Individual Acts Are Designed To Eliminate This, That Or, Or The Next Thing But, Yet, It Is Never Eliminated Is In No Way Impressive To Me.
White
Jail
People
It Takes Two To Tango; When I Go, You Go.
Two
Tango
If Martin Luther King, Roy Wilkins Or Any Of These Compromising Negros Who Say Exactly What The White Man Wants To Hear Is Interviewed Anywhere In The Country You Don't Get Anybody To Offset What They Say. But Whenever A Black Man Stands Up And Says Something That White People Don't Like Then The First Thing That Man Does Is Run Around To Try And Find Somebody To Say Something To Offset What Has Just Been Said. This Is Natural But It Is Done.
Running
Country
Kings
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad Teaches Us To Get Away From The Devil As Soon And As Fast As We Can.
Devil
Muhammad
Honorable
There Were Always More Negroes In The Field Than There Was Negroes In The House. The Negro In The Field Caught Hell. He Ate Leftovers. In The House They Ate High Up On The Hog. The Negro In The Field Didn't Get Nothing But What Was Left Of The Insides Of The Hog. They Call 'em "chitt'lin'" Nowadays. In Those Days They Called Them What They Were: Guts. That's What You Were -- A Gut-eater. And Some Of You All Still Gut-eaters.
House
Ems
Fields
Reverend Galamison Is Fighting A Hard Battle Against Great Opposition, And I Admire A Man Who Fights A Hard Battle Against Great Opposition.
Fighting
Men
Battle
You'd Have Civil War. You'd Have A Race War In This Country.
Country
War
Race
These Negroes Who Go For Integration And Intermarriage Are Linking Up With The Very People Who Lynched Their Fathers, Raped Their Mothers, And Put Their Kid Sisters In The Kitchen To Scrub Floors.
Mother
Father
Kids
I Believe In Human Rights For Everyone, And None Of Us Is Qualified To Judge Each Other And That None Of Us Should Therefore Have That Authority.
Believe
Rights
Judging
You Can't Hate Your Origin And Not End Up Hating Yourself. You Can't Hate Africa And Not Hate Yourself.
Hate
Hate You
Ends
Eleanor Roosevelt Could Easily Have Told Negroes The Deceitful Maneuvering Of The United States Government That Was Going On Behind The Scenes. She Never Did It. In My Opinion She Was Just Another White Woman Whose Profession Was To Make It Appear That She Was On The Negro's Side. You Have A Lot Of Whites Who Are In This Category. Therefore, They Have Made Negro Loving A Profession.
White
Government
Behind The Scenes
The White Man Knows What A Revolution Is. He Knows That The Black Revolution Is Worldwide In Scope And In Nature. The Black Revolution Is Sweeping Asia, Is Sweeping Africa, Is Rearing Its Head In Latin America. The Cuban Revolution - That's A Revolution. They Overturned The System. Revolution Is In Asia, Revolution Is In Africa, And The White Man Is Screaming Because He Sees Revolution In Latin America. How Do You Think He'll React To You When You Learn What A Real Revolution Is?
Real
Latin
Men
We Would Do The Same Thing That America Did When The Jap[an] - When, When Pearl Harbor Was Attacked. America Defended Itself. They Said Praise The Lord, But They Passed The Ammunition.
America
Pearls
Praise
The White Press Itself Created Civil Right Leaders.
White
Leader
Presses
When I Said [ I Would Work With Any Organization] I Would Make The, The Reservation That I Would Work With Any Organization As Long As It Didn't Make Us Compromise Our Religious Principles.
Religious
Organization
Long
You Can't Legislate Good Will - That Comes Through Education.
Good Will
They Cripple The Bird's Wing, And Then Condemn It For Not Flying As Fast As They.
Wings
Bird
Flying
I Must Say This Concerning The Great Controversy Over Rifles And Shotguns. The Only Thing I've Ever Said Is That In Areas Where The Government Has Proven Itself Either Unwilling Or Unable To Defend The Lives And The Property Of Negroes, It's Time For Negroes To Defend Themselves. Article Number Two Of The Constitutional Amendments Provides You And Me The Right To Own A Rifle Or A Shotgun. It Is Constitutionally Legal To Own A Shotgun Or A Rifle.
Gun
Government
Two
Of All Our Studies, History Is Best Qualified To Reward Our Research. And When You See That You've Got Problems, All You Have To Do Is Examine The Historic Method Used All Over The World By Others Who Have Problems Similar To Yours. And Once You See How They Got Theirs Straight, Then You Know How You Can Get Yours Straight.
Powerful
Research
World
It's Hard For Anyone Intelligent To Be Nonviolent. Everything In The Universe Does Something When You Start Playing With His Life, Except The American Negro. He Lays Down And Says, 'beat Me, Daddy.'
Intelligent
Daddy
Doe
I Will Be Happy To Give My Life To See Some Of These White Devils Die.
White
Giving
Devil
Do Something For Yourself, And Then You Will Be Recognized By The Entire World As A Man Who Has Done For Himself What Others Have Done For Themselves.
Men
Done
World
The Greatest Weapon The Colonial Powers Have Used In The Past Against Our People Has Always Been His Ability To Divide And Conquer. If I Take My Hand And Slap You, It Might Sting You Because These Digits Are Separated. But All I Have To Do To Put You Back In Your Place Is Bring Those Digits Together.
Past
Hands
People
Some Things Are Better Done Than Said.
Done
Said
Our Accent Will Be Upon Youth: We Need New Ideas, New Methods, New Approaches. We Will Call Upon Young Students Of Political Science Throughout The Nation To Help Us. We Will Encourage These Young Students To Launch Their Own Independent Study, And Then Give Us Their Analysis And Their Suggestions. We Are Completely Disenchanted With The Old, Adult, Established Politicians. We Want To See Some New Faces -- More Militant Faces.
Independent
Ideas
Giving
The Black People In This Country Are Taught That Their Religion And The Best Religion Is The Religion Of Islam, And When One Accepts The Religion Of Islam, He's Known As A Muslim.
Country
Religion Of Islam
People
Once I Was, Yes. But Now I Have Turned My Direction Away From Anything That's Racist.
Racist
Whenever I Walk The Street And See People Ready To Get With It, That's My Reward.
People
Rewards
Walks
The Greatest Miracle Christianity Has Achieved In America Is That The Black Man In White Christian Hands Has Not Grown Violent. It Is A Miracle That Twenty-two Million Black People Have Not Risen Up Against Their Oppressors In Which They Would Have Been Justified By All Moral Criteria And Even By The Democratic Traditions.
Christian
Men
Hands
When You Are Equal With Another Person, The Problem Of Integration Doesn't Even Arise.
Problem
Arise
Equal
We Who Follow The Honorable Elijah Muhammad Feel That When You Try And Pass Integration Laws Here In America, Forcing White People To Pretend That They Are Accepting Black People, What You Are Doing Is Making White People Act In A Hypocritical Way.
Law
White
America
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.
Heartbreak
Time
Adversity
A Man Without Any History Is Like A Tree Without Roots
Wisdom
Islamic
Men
If You Stick A Knife Nine Inches Into My Back And Pull It Out Three Inches, That Is Not Progress. Even If You Pull It All The Way Out, That Is Not Progress. Progress Is Healing The Wound, And America Hasn't Even Begun To Pull Out The Knife.
Healing
America
Ethnicity
When The Snakes Out In That Field Begin To Realize That If One Of Their Members Get Out Of Line, It's Going To Be Detrimental To All Of Them, They'll Keep That, Perhaps They'll Then Take The Necessary Steps To Keep Their Fellow Snakes Away From My Chickens Or Away From My Children If The Responsibility Is Placed Upon Them.
Children
Responsibility
Snakes
It’s Just Like When You’ve Got Some Coffee That’s Too Black, Which Means It’s Too Strong. What You Do? You Integrate It With Cream; You Make It Weak. If You Pour Too Much Cream In, 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’ll Put You To Sleep.
Strong
Coffee
Sleep
White Is An Attitude.
Attitude
White
I Remember One Thing That Marred This Time For Me; The Movie "gone With The Wind." When It Played In Mason [mi], I Was The Only Negro In The Theater, And When Butterfly Mcqueen Went Into Her Act, I Felt Like Crawling Under The Rug.
Butterfly
Wind
Gone
If You're Not Ready To Die For It, Put The Word 'freedom' Out Of Your Vocabulary.
Freedom
Vocabulary
Hajj
Here You Have 22 Million Afro-americans, Black People Today, Catching More Hell Than Patrick Henry Ever Saw. And I'm Here To Tell You, In Case You Don't Know It, That You Got A New - You Got A New Generation Of Black People In This Country, Who Don't Care Anything Whatsoever About Odds. They Don't Want To Hear You Old Uncle Tom Handkerchief Heads Talking About The Odds.
Country
Uncles
Odds
You Don't Stick A Knife In A Man's Back Nine Inches And Then Pull It Out Six Inches And Say You're Making Progress.
Men
Knives
Progress
[negro] Should Realize That He Is Living In A War Zone, And He Is At War With An Enemy That Is As Vicious And Criminal And Inhuman As Any War-making Country Has Ever Been.
Country
War
Enemy
The Black Man Will Inherit The Earth; He Will Resume Control, Taking Back The Position He Held Centuries Ago When The White Devil Was Crawling Around The Caves Of Europe On His All Fours. Before The White Devil Came Into Our Lives We Had A Civilization, We Had A Culture, We Were Living In Silks And Satins. Then He Put Us In Chains And Put Us Aboard The "good Ship Jesus," And We Have Lived In Hell Ever Since.
Jesus
Men
Europe
Just As A Tree Without Roots Is Dead, A People Without History Or Cultural Roots Also Becomes A Dead People.
Roots
People
Tree
When You Have Your Own Bus, Then You Have Dignity. When You Have Your Own School, You Have Dignity. When You Have Your Own Country, You Have Dignity.when You Have Something Of Your Own, You Have Dignity. But Whenever You Are Begging For A Chance To Participate In That Which Belongs To Someone Else, Or Use That Which Belongs To Someone Else, On An Equal Basis With The Owner, That's Not Dignity. That's Ignorance.
Country
School
Ignorance
The Press Is So Powerful In Its Image-making Role, It Can Make The Criminal Look Like He's A The Victim And Make The Victim Look Like He's The Criminal. This Is The Press, An Irresponsible Press. It Will Make The Criminal Look Like He's The Victim And Make The Victim Look Like He's The Criminal. If You Aren't Careful, The Newspapers Will Have You Hating The People Who Are Being Oppressed And Loving The People Who Are Doing The Oppressing.
Powerful
Hate
Media Control
My Sincerity Is My Credentials.
Sincerity
Credentials
History Rewards All Research. And History Fails To Record One Single Instance In Which The White Man - As A People - Did Good. They Have Always Been Devils; They Always Will Be Devils, And They Are About To Be Destroyed. The Final Proof That They Are Devils Lies In The Fact That They Are About To Destroy Themselves. Only A Devil - And A Stupid Devil At That - Would Destroy Himself!
Lying
Stupid
Men
No President Ever Had More Power Than [franklin Delano] Roosevelt.
President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin
Everybody Shall Be Accepted No Matter What They Stand For, You Are Not Always Going To Agree On Their Faith.
Matter
No Matter What
Accepted
The Religious Philosophy That They Had Adopted, In My Opinion, Was The Only Thing And Is The Only Thing That Can Remove The White From The Mind Of The White Man And The Negro From The Mind Of The Negro. I Have Seen What Islam Has Done With Our People, Our People Who Had This Feeling Of Negro - And It Had A Psychological Effect Of Putting Them In A Mental Prison.
Religious
Philosophy
Men
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad Says That If The - What Should Happen Is The Black Man Himself Should Learn How To Develop Himself, In The Same Sense That The White Man Has Developed Himself. Then They Can Both Come Together And Recognize Each Other As Equals.
Men
White Man
Black
That's Not Our Problem, That's America's Problem. If The Average American Knew The Trouble That Uncle Sam Is In All Over This Earth, They Could See That It - We Are Closer Toward Getting A Separate Territory In This Country Than The Integrationists Are Toward Getting Integration.
Country
Uncles
Average
Never Have I Witnessed Such Sincere Hospitality And The Overwhelming Spirit Of True Brotherhood As Is Practiced By People Of All Colours And Races Here In This Ancient Holy Land, The Home Of Abraham, Muhammad, And All The Other Prophets Of The Holy Scriptures. For The Past Week, I Have Been Utterly Speechless And Spellbound By The Graciousness I See Displayed All Around Me By People Of All Colours.
Home
Past
Land
Martin Luther King Has Taken Away From The Negro His Gov-given Right To Defend Himself.
Kings
Taken
Luther
If You Form The Habit Of Taking What Someone Else Says About A Thing Without Checking It Out For Yourself, You'll Find That Other People Will Have You Hating Your Friends And Loving Your Enemies.
Hate
People
Loving You
Negroes Just Can't Judge Each Other According To Color, Because We Are All Colors, All Complexions.
Color
Judging
Complexion
Children Have A Lesson Adults Should Learn, To Not Be Ashamed Of Failing, But To Get Up And Try Again. Most Of Us Adults Are So Afraid, So Cautious, So 'safe,' And Therefore So Shrinking And Rigid And Afraid That It Is Why So Many Humans Fail. Most Middle-aged Adults Have Resigned Themselves To Failure.
Children
Fear
Trying
What Martin Luther King Is Doing Is Disarming The Black People Of America Of Their God-given Right And Of Their Natural Right.
Kings
America
People
Nobody Can Give You Freedom. Nobody Can Give You Equality Or Justice Or Anything. If You're A Man, You Take It.
Motivational
Freedom
Patriotic
All Of The Civil Rights Problems During The Past Years Have Created A Situation Where America Right Now Is Moving Toward A Police State. You Can't Have Anything Otherwise. So That's Your Supposition.
Moving
Past
Rights
To The Same Degree That Your Understanding Of And Attitude Toward Afrika Become Positive, You'll Find That Your Understanding Of And Your Attitude Toward Yourself Will Also Become Positive.
Attitude
Understanding
Identity
You Can't Separate Peace From Freedom Because No One Can Be At Peace Unless He Has His Freedom.
Peace
Freedom
Inspiration
I Admire The, The Stand Of China And The Stand Of Mao Tse- Tung, But I Can't Admire With Respect The Stand Of, Of Nehru In India. I Just Can't Do It.
Nehru
India
Mao
We Must Establish All Over The Country Schools Of Our Own To Train Our Own Children To Become Scientists, To Become Mathematicians. We Must Realize The Need For Adult Education And For Job Retraining Programs That Will Emphasize A Changing Society In Which Automation Plays The Key Role. We Intend To Use The Tools Of Education To Help Raise Our People To An Unprecedented Level Of Excellence And Self Respect Through Their Own Efforts.
Country
Jobs
Children
When The Thing Is Finally Sparked, The White Man Is Not There - He's Gone. The Merchant Is Not There, The Landlord Is Not There, The One They Consider To Be The Enemy Isn't There. So, They Knock At His Property. This Is What Makes Them Knock Down The Store Windows And Set Fire To Things, And Things Of That Sort.
Wisdom
Men
Fire
If You're Born In America With A Black Skin, You're Born In Prison, And The Masses Of Black People In America Today Are Beginning To Regard Our Plight Or Predicament In This Society As One Of A Prison Inmate.
America
People
Black
The Chinese In This Country Aren't Asking For Integration.
Country
Chinese
Asking
Policies Change, And Programs Change, According To Time.but Objective Never Changes. You Might Change Your Method Of Achieving The Objective, But The Objective Never Changes. Our Objective Is Complete Freedom, Complete Justice, Complete Equality, By Any Means Necessary
Mean
Justice
Might
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.
Struggle
Past
Culture
Always That "if" Was There, Which Meant That The One Who Was Doomed Could Avoid The Doom If He Would Change His Way Of Behaving.
Way
Doom
Doomed
The Zionist Argument To Justify Israel's Present Occupation Of Arab Palestine Has No Intelligent Or Legal Basis In History.
Intelligent
Israel
Occupation
Forget The Methods Or The Differences In Methods. As Long As We Agree That The Thing That The Afro-american Wants And Needs Is Recognition And Respect As A Human Being.
Differences
Long
Needs
You Have To Be Very Careful Introducing The Truth To The Black Man, Who Has Never Previously Heard The Truth About Himself. The Black Brother Is So Brainwashed That He May Reject The Truth When He First Hears It. You Have To Drop A Little Bit On Him At A Time, And Wait A While To Let That Sink In Before Advancing To The Next Step
Brother
Men
Waiting
America's Greatest Crime Against The Black Man Was Not Slavery Or Lynching, But That He Was Taught To Wear A Mask Of Self-hate And Self-doubt.
Hate
Men
Lynching
This Was My First Lesson About Gambling: If You See Somebody Winning All The Time, He Isn't Gambling, He's Cheating. Later On In Life, If I Were Continuously Losing In Any Gambling Situation, I Would Watch Very Closely.
Cheating
Winning
Gambling
Most Of The, Or I Should Say Many Of The Negro Leaders Actually Suffer Themselves From An Inferiority Complex Even Though They Say They Don't.
Leader
Suffering
Inferiority
If You Are Not Willing To Pay The Price For Freedom, You Don't Deserve Freedom.
Pay The Price
Willing
Ifs
God Now Is About To Establish A Kingdom On This Earth Based Upon Brotherhood And Peace, And The White Man Is Against Brotherhood And The White Man Is Against Peace. His History On This Earth Has Proved That.
Men
White Man
Brotherhood
Our Success In America Will Involve Two Circles: Black Nationalism And Islam–it Will Take Bn [black Nationalism] To Make Our People Conscious Of Doing For Self & Then Islam Will Provide The Spiritual Guidance. Bn [black Nationalism] Will Link Us To Africa And Islam Will Link Us Spiritually To Africa, Arabia & Asia.
Spiritual
Self
Circles
I Think As An Intelligent Person You Would Agree That When You Are Teaching Among Oppressed People That They Should Be Relieved Of Their Oppression Not 100 Or 10 Years From Now, But Right Now, You're Going To Find Your Talk Is Going To Fall Upon Sympathetic Ears.
Fall
Teaching
Intelligent
Once Negro Community Recognize It As Such, They Can Adopt The Same Measures Against The Community That Harbors The Criminals Who Are Responsible For This Activity.
Community
Criminals
Responsible
After I Made My Tour In The Middle, Into The Middle-east And Africa And Visited Mecca And Other Places, I Think That The Separation [ From The Black Muslim Movement] Became Psychological As Well As Physical, So That I Could Look At It More Objectively And - And Separate That Which Was Good From That Which Was Bad.
Thinking
Black
Middle East
The Messenger Has Seen God. He Was With Allah And Was Given Divine Patience With The Devil. He Is Willing To Wait For Allah To Deal With This Devil. Well, Sir, The Rest Of Us Black Muslims Have Not Seen God, We Don't Have This Gift Of Divine Patience With The Devil. The Younger Black Muslims Want To See Some Action.
Waiting
Black
Devil
I Know That I Will Not Die Until My Time Comes.
My Time
Knows
Dies
The Same Rebellion, The Same Impatience, The Same Anger That Exists In The Hearts Of The Dark People In Africa And Asia Is Existing In The Hearts And Minds Of 20 Million Black People In This Country Who Have Been Just As Thoroughly Colonized As The People In Africa And Asia.
Country
Heart
Dark
If The Emancipation Proclamation Was Authentic, You Wouldn't Have A Race Problem.
Race
Problem
Emancipation Proclamation
Nonviolence Is His, Is His Method. Well, My Objective Is The Same As [martin Luther] King's.
Kings
Luther
Method
I'm With An Old Family" Was The Euphemism Used To Dignify The Professions Of White Folks' Cooks And Maids Who Talked So Affectedly Among Their Own Kind In Roxbury [massachusetts] That You Couldn't Even Understand Them.
White
Massachusetts
Maids
Much Of What I Say Might Sound Like It's Stirring Up Trouble, But It's The Truth!
Sound
Might
Trouble
I'll Say Nothing Against Him. At One Time The Whites In The United States Called Him A Racialist, And Extremist, And A Communist. Then The Black Muslims Came Along And The Whites Thanked The Lord For Martin Luther King.
Kings
Black
United States
Right Now, In Every Big City Ghetto, Tens Of Thousands Of Yesterday's And Today's School Dropouts Are Keeping Body And Soul Together By Some Form Of Hustling In The Same Way I Did.
School
Ghetto
Cities
Daring To Reach, To Climb, To Crawl, To Scratch, To Get Back Up When You've Been Knocked Down, To Push Forward - Ever Forward - To Forgive. It Means Sacrificing Everything If Necessary, To Carve Out A Place For Your Own Existence. It Means Living.
Mean
Sacrifice
Sacrificing Everything
I Believe In Islam. I Am A Muslim And There Is Nothing Wrong With Being A Muslim, Nothing Wrong With The Religion Of Islam. It Just Teaches Us To Believe In Allah As The God.
Believe
Religion Of Islam
Teach
Because The Honorable Elijah Muhammad Makes Black People Brave Enough, Men Enough To Defend Ourselves No Matter What The Odds Are, The White Man Runs Around Here With A Doctrine That Mr. Muhammad Is Advocating The Violence When He Is Actually Telling Negroes To Defend Themselves Against Violent People.
Running
Men
Odds
Any Time The Negro Becomes Involved In Mature Political Action, Then The Resistance Of The Politicians Who Benefit From The Exploited Political System As It Now Stands Will Be Forced To Put, Exercise More Violent Action To Deprive The Negro Of His Mature Political Action.
Exercise
Political
Benefits
Any Form Of Integration, Forced Integration, Any - Any - Any Effort To Force Integration Upon Whites Is Actually Hypocritical.
Effort
Hypocritical
Form
When We Send Our Children To School, They Learn Nothing About Us Other Than We Used To Be Cotton Pickers. Why, Your Grandfather Was Nat Turner; Your Grandfather Was Toussaint L'ouverture; Your Grandfather Was Hannibal. It Was Your Grandfather's Hands Who Forged Civilization And It Was Your Grandmother's Hands Who Rocked The Cradle Of Civilization. But The Textbooks Tell Our Children Nothing.
Children
School
Grandmother
When The People Who Are In Power Want To Use Again, Create An Image, To Justify Something That's Bad, They Use The Press. And They'll Use The Press To Create A Humanitarian Image, For A Devil, Or A Devil Image For A Humanitarian. They'll Take A Person Who's A Victim Of The Crime, And Make It Appear He's The Criminal, And They'll Take The Criminal And Make It Appear That He's The Victim Of The Crime.
People
Devil
Criminals
Martin Luther King Has Made The Negro In America Unnatural.
Kings
America
Luther
A Negro Just Can't Be Whipped By Somebody White And Return With His Head Up In The Neighborhood, Especially In Those Days, When Sports And, To A Lesser Extent Show Business, Were The Only Fields Open To Negroes, And When The Ring Was The Only Place A Negro Could Whip A White Man And Not Be Lynched.
Sports
Men
White Man
Trending Author
Walter Benjamin
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Henry Van Dyke
Dag Hammarskjold
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Category
Information