# Quote — Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

> They call me "a teacher, a fomenter of violence." I would say point blank, "That is a lie. I'm not for wanton violence, I'm for justice." I feel that if white people were attacked by Negroes — if the forces of law prove unable, or inadequate, or reluctant to protect those whites from those Negroes — then those white people should protect and defend themselves from those Negroes, using arms if necessary. And I feel that when the law fails to protect Negroes from whites' attacks, then those Negroes should use arms if necessary to defend themselves. "Malcolm X advocates armed Negroes!" What was wrong with that? I'll tell you what's wrong. I was a black man talking about physical defense against the white man. The white man can lynch and burn and bomb and beat Negroes — that's all right: "Have patience"..."The customs are entrenched"..."Things will get better."

- Author: [Malcolm X](https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x.md)
- Book: [The Autobiography of Malcolm X](https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Malcolm_X#The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_X_(1965)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x/they-call-me-a-teacher

## More from this book

> I've had enough of someone else's propaganda. I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against. I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I am for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.

p. 400 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x/ive-had-enough.md)

> People don't realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book.

p. 400 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x/people-dont-realize.md)

> The young whites, and blacks, too, are the only hope that America has, the rest of us have always been living in a lie.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/malcolm-x/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x/the-young-whites.md)