The Honorable Elijah Muhammad says number one, [Negro] must know - have a knowledge of himself. And this gives him confidence in himself. He - he has been brainwashed by the educational system that exists here in America to the point where he feels he was a savage in the jungle when he was - before he was brought here. And this destroys his morale.
Malcolm XAs long as the factories are in the hands of the whites, the housing is in the hands of the whites, the school system is in the hands of the whites, you have a situation where the blacks are constantly begging the whites can they use this or can they use that. That's not any kind of equality of opportunity, nor does it lend toward one's dignity.
Malcolm XRead absolutely everything you get your hands on because you'll never know where you'll get an idea from.
Malcolm XWhen we send our children to school, they learn nothing about us other than we used to be cotton pickers. Why, your grandfather was Nat Turner; your grandfather was Toussaint L'Ouverture; your grandfather was Hannibal. It was your grandfather's hands who forged civilization and it was your grandmother's hands who rocked the cradle of civilization. But the textbooks tell our children nothing.
Malcolm X