"When this country here was first being founded there were 13 colonies. The whites were colonized. They were fed up with this taxation without representation, so some of them stood up and said “Liberty or death.” Though I went to a white school over here in Mason, Michigan, the white man made the mistake of letting me read his history books. He made the mistake of teaching me that Patrick Henry was a patriot, and George Washington -- wasn’t nothing nonviolent about old Pat or George Washington. “Liberty or death” was what brought about the freedom of whites in this country from the English. They didn't care about the odds. Why they faced the wrath of the entire British Empire. And in those days they used to say that the British Empire was so vast and so powerful when the sun would never set on them. This is how big it was, yet these 13 little, scrawny states, tired of taxation without representation, tired of being exploited and oppressed and degraded, told that big British Empire “Liberty or death.” And here you have 22 million Afro-American black people today catching more hell than Patrick Henry ever saw. And I'm here to tell you, in case you don't know it, that you got a new generation of black people in this country who don't care anything whatsoever about odds. They don't want to hear you old Uncle Tom handkerchief heads talking about the odds. No. This is a new generation. If they're gonna draft these young black men and send them over to Korea or South Vietnam to face 800 million Chinese — if you're not afraid of those odds, you shouldn't be afraid of these odds."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Political leadersLawyers from the United StatesFounding Fathers of the United States of AmericaOrators from the United StatesPeople from Virginia
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Malcolm X, speech (1964)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_Henry
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (29 May 1736 – 6 June 1799) was an American attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A U.S. Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786. Henry led the opposition to the Stamp Act 1765 and is remembered for the "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech attributed to him. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he i
40 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Patrick Henry →
Related Quotes
"A wise enemy as a companion is better than a foolish friend."
"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian…"
"Give me liberty, or give me death!"
"I shall honour the Quakers for their noble Effort to abolish Slavery. It is equally calculated to promote moral & pol…"
"I will not, I cannot justify it."
"I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil. Everything we do is t…"
"It is not a little Surprising that Christianity, whose chief excellence consists of softening the human heart, in che…"
"Suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the public good, and as long as it stays within proper bounds. … Guard…"
"Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rul…"
"Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell; and George the Third — ["Treason!" cried the Speaker] — may pr…"