Quotes about Identity
The greatest hazard of all, losing one's self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed.
— Soren Kierkegaard
Once you label me you negate me.
— Soren Kierkegaard
These negroes aren't asking for no nation. They wanna crawl back on the plantation.
— Malcolm X
By making our people in the Western Hemisphere hate Africa, we ended up hating ourselves. We hated our African characteristics. We hated our African identity. We hated our African features. So much so that you would find those of us in the West who would hate the shape of our nose. We would hate the shape of our lips. We would hate the color of our skin and the texture of our hair. This was a reaction, but we didn't realize that it was a reaction.
— Malcolm X
No one will know who we are... until we now who we are! We will be able to go anywhere until we know where we are!
— Malcolm X
All praise is due to Allah that I went to Boston when I did. If I hadn't, I'd probably still be a brainwashed black Christian.
— Malcolm X
If you are born in America with a black skin, you're in prison
— Malcolm X
Under the pitiful misapprehension that it would make them better, these Hill Negroes were breaking their backs trying to imitate white people.
— Malcolm X
This is still one of the black man's big troubles today. So many of those so-called "upper class" Negroes are so busy trying to impress on the white man that they are "different from those others" that they can't see they are only helping the white man to keep his low opinion of all Negroes.
— Malcolm X
My black brothers and sisters—no one will know who we are…until we know who we are! We never will be able to go anywhere until we know where we are!
— Malcolm X
Standing there by that Harvard window, I silently vowed to Allah that I never would forget that any wings I wore had been put on by the religion of Islam. That fact I never have forgotten . . . not for one second
— Malcolm X
If you're afraid of black nationalism, you're afraid of revolution. And if you love revolution, you love black nationalism.
— Malcolm X