Malcolm X Quotes

[We need to push] for what we want, not just what we can get.

You have to fight for what you need to fight for.

Am I pushy? Yep. Do I like taking 'no' for an answer when 'no' means New Yorkers aren't going to get something they need? No. Do I push back and crack some eggs? Absolutely.

Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.

I just know what I want, and I'm willing to butt heads with folks to get it.

Women have got to stop being polite. If I ever had children, which I don't, the first thing I'd teach a girl of mine is the words 'f - off.'

I'm never argumentative for the sake of being argumentative, I don't think. And more than ever, I've had to be willing to fight just to get records released, or just to be able to walk away with a little bit of self-respect and pride.

And to know how to demand - with all one's might - what one wants

I think the most important thing is to, without belligerence, stand up for what want. Argue compellingly if someone tries to change your script.

The phenomenon of the woman who's asked what movie she wants to see, and she says, "I don't know. What do you want to see?" It's a tiny version of a big tendency. Women need to say, "This is what I want."

I learned just to be a belligerent asshole, which was really: "You have to get what you need to get out of it." You have to fight for things you believe in, and you have to be smart about how you position it so that you don't just become white noise.

I think what I learned is that just because somebody says you can't talk to them or just because somebody says they don't have an answer for you, you don't stop.

I want to be a strong voice, period.

I'm going to fight for what I want.

There ain't nobody going to run me out of nowhere.

Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.

If you want your girls to feel strong and intelligent and be outspoken and fight for what they think is right, then I want to be that type of role model.

I'm a very direct person and, sometimes, when I want something, I will push it until I get it. But, it's OK. It's not as bad as some people. When I have an idea in my head, I'm pretty stubborn.

Sticking up for ourselves in the same way we would one of our friends is a hard but satisfying thing to do. Sometimes it works.

Not being heard is no reason for silence.

The best lesson that I've learned from my mother is that she just never accepted no for an answer and I think that's something that has stayed with me.

I think everybody likes a person that stands up for themselves. Nobody likes a punk or a coward.

It may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: 'Sit down and shut up,' but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.