Revolutionary Black Liberation Leader in the U.S.
1925-1965
Our method is: any means
necessary. That’s our motto.
We’re not restricted to this, or
confined to that. We reserve the
right to use any means necessary
to protect our humanity, or to
make the world see that they
respect us as human beings.
Any means necessary.
When I say that, I don’t
mean anything illegal. The
government—You’re being
treated criminally. The criminal
is the one who’s illegal. The
one who’s responsible for
these criminal conditions, he’s
a criminal, he’s illegal. And
whatever you’ve got to do to
stop this crime from being
committed against you, as far as
I’m concerned you’re not illegal.
So that’s our first step at
the international level. And
politically, we devise and
support any program that’s
designed to give the Black man
in this country an opportunity
to participate as a citizen, a free
citizen, in this political system
and in this society.
Excerpt from speech to civil rights workers
from Mississippi, January 1, 1965
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