“Today it’s time to stop singing and start swinging. You can’t sing up on freedom, but you can swing up on some freedom.”

—  Malcolm X

The Ballot or the Bullet (1964), Speech in Detroit, Michigan (12 April 1964)
Context: The government has failed us; you can’t deny that. Anytime you live in the twentieth century, 1964, and you’re walking around here singing “We Shall Overcome,” the government has failed us. This is part of what’s wrong with you -- you do too much singing. Today it’s time to stop singing and start swinging. You can’t sing up on freedom, but you can swing up on some freedom. Cassius Clay can sing, but singing didn’t help him to become the heavyweight champion of the world; swinging helped him become the heavyweight champion.

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American human rights activist 1925–1965

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