Today, I’d like to share some facts and things about Malcolm X with you. I will do so also using some of his quotes. Click here to read more about him and gain access to more quotes.
He was Intelligent
“My alma mater was books, a good library… I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.�?
— Malcolm X
“Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.�?
— Malcolm X
Although he did not graduate high school, Malcolm X made efforts to educate himself and he was no doubt an intelligent man and gifted speaker.
He was somewhat Radical
“We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.�?
— Malcolm X
“Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.�?
— Malcolm X
“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
Mr X was not against using violence to gain freedom. This is one of the aspects in which he differed from Dr Martin Luther King. I am not saying he encouraged the use of violence it’s just that he didn’t discourage it either.
He Was Able To Admit He Was Wrong
“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. Before it was for and by the guidance of Elijah Muhammad. Now I think with my own mind, sir!�?
— Malcolm X
“The thing that you have to understand about those of us in the Black Muslim movement was that all of us believed 100 per cent 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
“…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.�?
— on those he encouraged to follow Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad
— Malcolm X
Malcolm was disappointed by his mentor Elijah Muhammad whom he regarded as a true prophet and it really broke him. Once Malcolm discovered Elijah was not practising what he preached, he spoke out against him trying to undo all he had done under his leadership. Elijah is said to be responsible for Malcolm’s death.
He Was Insightful
“A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.�?
— Malcolm X
“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
“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
As I mentioned before, he was a brilliant man and an eloquent speaker. He had smart and insightful things to say most of the time.
He was extremely passionate about Black civil rights
“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 colour.�?
— Malcolm X
“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.�?
— February 19, 1965 (2 days before he was murdered by Nation of Islam followers)
— Malcolm X
Radical or not, in the end, all he did was for the purpose of freeing the African Americans from their bondage. That was what drove him. In the end, he was a bright light that was put out too soon. He died at the age of 39.
