Ten Powerful Quotes From Malcolm X
The civil rights icon's words still apply 50 years later.
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On the Media - May 19th would have been Malcolm X's 90th birthday. Though the activist never lived to see old age — he was assassinated in 1965, at age 40 — his legacy is immortal. To honor the civil rights icon, we revisit some of his most poignant words. Keep reading for Malcolm X’s most passion-filled quotes. — Patrice Peck“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” (Photo: Bob Parent/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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On Condemnation - “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.”(Photo: Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images
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On Being Human - “I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”(Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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On Education - “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”(Photo: Richard Saunders/Getty Images)
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On Speaking Up - “So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.”(Photo: Richard Saunders/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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On Betrayal - “To me, the thing that is worse than death is betrayal. You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal.”(Photo: Express Newspapers/Getty Images)
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On Critics - “If you have no critics you'll likely have no success.”(Photo: MPI/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: MPI/Getty Images
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On Freedom - “If you're not ready to die for it, take the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary.”(Photo: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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On Unity - “We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.”(Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)