"The press is so powerful in its image-making role, it can make the criminal look like hes a the victim and make the victim look like hes the criminal. This is the press, an irresponsible press. It will make the criminal look like hes the victim and make the victim look like hes the criminal. If you arent careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. If you arent careful, because Ive seen some of you caught in that bag, you run away hating yourself and loving the man — while youre catching hell from the man. You let the man maneuver you into thinking that its wrong to fight him when hes fighting you. Hes fighting you in the morning, fighting you in the noon, fighting you at night and fighting you all in between, and you still think its wrong to fight him back. Why? The press. The newspapers make you look wrong."
Malcolm X was an African American revolutionary and Black nationalist leader, coming from a background of poverty, family disruption, and criminal activity, to a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965. He discovered the religious organization the Nation of Islam while in prison and served as its spokesperson from 1952 until 1964. He was also a vocal advoc
"Over the years considerable thought has been given, and action taken with Bureau approval, relating to methods through which the [Nation of Islam] could be discredited in the eyes of the general black populace or through which factionalism among the leadership could be created.... Factional disputes have been developed — the most notable being MALCOLM X LITTLE."
Malcolm X"I dont usually deal with those big words because I dont usually deal with big people. I deal with small people. I find you can get a whole lot of small people and whip hell out of a whole lot of big people. They havent got anything to lose, and theyve got every thing to gain. And theyll let you know in a minute: "It takes two to tango; when I go, you go."
Malcolm X"I do believe that there will be a clash between East and West. 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. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I dont think that it will be based upon the color of the skin...."
Malcolm X"President Kennedy never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon. Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; theyve always made me glad."
Malcolm X"If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, theres no progress. If you pull it all the way out thats not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they havent even pulled the knife out much less heal the wound. They wont even admit the knife is there."
Malcolm X"I dont believe in any form of unjustified extremism! But when a man is exercising extremism — a human being is exercising extremism — in defense of liberty for human beings its no vice, and when one is moderate in the pursuit of justice for human beings I say he is a sinner."
Malcolm X"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that theres free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."
"With much care and skill power has been broken into fragments in the American township, so that the maximum possible number of people have some concern with public affairs."
"The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. It is the cause and the end of all things; everything rises out of it and is absorbed back into it."
"I should say that when people talk about capitalism its a bit of a joke. Theres no such thing. No country, no business class, has ever been willing to subject itself to the free market, free market discipline. Free markets are for others. Like, the Third World is the Third World because they had free markets rammed down their throat. Meanwhile, the enlightened states, England, the United States, others, resorted to massive state intervention to protect private power, and still do. Thats right up to the present. I mean, the Reagan administration for example was the most protectionist in post-war American history. Virtually the entire dynamic economy in the United States is based crucially on state initiative and intervention: computers, the internet, telecommunication, automation, pharmaceutical, you just name it. Run through it, and you find massive ripoffs of the public, meaning, a system in which under one guise or another the public pays the costs and takes the risks, and profit is privatized. Thats very remote from a free market. Free market is like what India had to suffer for a couple hundred years, and most of the rest of the Third World."
"I appeal to all pupils, students and young people, asking you to focus on the horizons that are opening up for you, and which you could only dream of a year ago. Our future will depend on your desire for education and moral values as well as on your entrepreneurial spirit."
"We have created a wealthy society with tens of millions of talented, resourceful individuals who play virtually no role whatsoever as citizens. Bringing these people in — with their networks of influence, their knowledge, and their resources — is the key to creating the capacity for shared intelligence that we need to solve our problems."
Al Gore