African-American History

Malcolm X Quotes

Malcolm X waiting for press conference. Photograph by Marion S. Trikosko, 1964 March 26.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, U.S. News and World Report Collection.

Anything I do today, I regard as urgent. No man is given but so much time to accomplish whatever is his life's work. My life in particular never has stayed fixed in one position very long. . . . I am only facing the facts when I know that any moment of any day, or any night, could bring my death.
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
Power never takes a back step - only in the face of more power. Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.
You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
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.
Stumbling is not falling.
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.
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