A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
Malcolm XRead
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.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that in struggles for justice, time and truth favor those who are oppressed rather than their oppressors.
Malcolm X asserts that in the ongoing fight against oppression, both time and truth are powerful allies for the oppressed. This implies that the inevitability of change and the inherent validity of truth serve to empower those who suffer injustices, making it clear that their cause is righteous and ultimately destined to prevail against tyranny.
In practice
In a speech advocating for social justice, one could quote Malcolm X to highlight the importance of standing up for truth and justice.
A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
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.
When you want a nation, that's called nationalism... Black nationalism. A revolutionary is a Black nationalist. He wants a nation.
So over you is the greatest enemy a man can have — and that is fear. I know some of you are afraid to listen to the truth — you have been raised on fear and lies. But I am going to preach to you the truth until you are free of that fear...
Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.
Not long ago, an English writer telephoned me from London, asking questions. One was "What's your alma mater?" I told him, "Books." You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I'm not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man.
I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.
True emancipation begins neither at the polls nor in the courts. It begins in woman's soul.
When violence against women is no longer societally accepted, no longer kept secret; when everyone understands that even one case is too many. That's when it will change.
Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears.
As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved - it's the citizen who changes things.
We face neither East nor West: we face forward.
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