Malcolm X "By Any Means Necessary" Hoodie

Support the Legacy of the Great Malcolm X with Malcolm X By Any Means Necessary Hoodie

Malcolm X, Minister and American Activist for Black People's rights

Malcolm X always demonstrated a bitter amusement when labeled a purveyor of hatred and violence. How meaningful were such charges when they came from whites who brought Malcolm's ancestors to America in chains, then beat and lynched them with impunity? Faced with such crimes, he felt black Americans were entitled to secure their rights "by any means necessary" -- up to and including the use of violence. But the violence to which Malcolm X referred was invariably defensive, and for all his harsh rhetoric, it is doubtful that at the end of his life Malcolm X really believed that bullets would solve the problems blacks faced in America, or that whites were truly "blue-eyed devils."

When Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam, it was a fringe society with a few hundred members. But after several years of rapid growth, black Muslims began to catch the attention of white America. All this talk about "blue-eyed devils" meant that initial reviews were not positive; Mike Wallace's 1959 documentary The Hate That Hate Produced was the first in a series of efforts to label the Nation of Islam a hate group, a charge that Malcolm X rejected. "The white man isn't important enough for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his followers to spend any time hating him," Malcolm said. But even if he would deny hating his white oppressors, Malcolm certainly wasn't going to urge his followers to love them. "Don't love your enemy," Malcolm taught, "Love yourself." He had no use for the non-violence of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Malcolm believed that just encouraged whites to attack blacks with impunity. Don't mistake Black Muslims "for those Negroes who believe in non-violence," he warned one crowd that included whites; if you "put your hands on us thinking that we're going to turn the other cheek — we'll put you to death just like that."

The Constitution of the United States of America clearly affirms the right of every American citizen to bear arms. And as Americans, we will not give up a single right guaranteed under the Constitution. The history of unpunished violence against our people clearly indicates that we must be prepared to defend ourselves, or we will continue to be a defenseless people at the mercy of a ruthless and violent, racist mob.