801 Quotes by Malcolm X

The greatest single reason for [the] Christian church’s failure . . . is its failure to combat racism.

Once you change your philosophy, you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern, you change your — your attitude. Once you change your attitude, it changes your behavior pattern and then you go on into some action. As long as you gotta sit-down philosophy, you’ll have a sit-down thought pattern, and as long as you think that old sit-down thought you’ll be in some kind of sit-down action.

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.

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.

Nobody can give you freedom, nobody can give you equality or justice. If you are a man, you take it.

Even Samson, the world's strongest man, was destroyed by the woman who slept in his arms. she was the one whose words hurt him.

Always, every now and then, I had given her a hard time, just to keep her in line. Every once in a while a woman seems to need, in fact wants this too.

[S]ociety has produced and nourishes a psychology which brings out the lowest, most base part of human beings.

[I]t’s a reaction that was produced by the society; and I think that it is the society that produced this that should be attacked, not the reaction that develops[.]