--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that any black man who teaches…" description: "\"I think that any black man who teaches black people to turn the other cheek and suffer peacefully after they've been turning the cheek and suffering pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/malcolm-x-213_black_i-think-that-any-black-man-who-teaches-b_2053490.jpg" --- # I think that any black man who teaches black people to… ![“I think that any black man who teaches black people to turn the other cheek and suffer peacefully after they've been turning the cheek and suffering peacefully for 400 years in a land of bondage, under the most cruel, inhuman and wicked slavemaster that any people have ever been under, he is doing…” quote by Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/malcolm-x-213_black_i-think-that-any-black-man-who-teaches-b_2053490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/malcolm-x-213_black_i-think-that-any-black-man-who-teaches-b_2053490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/malcolm-x-213_black_i-think-that-any-black-man-who-teaches-b_2053490.jpg) > “I think that any black man who teaches black people to turn the other cheek and suffer peacefully after they've been turning the cheek and suffering peacefully for 400 years in a land of bondage, under the most cruel, inhuman and wicked slavemaster that any people have ever been under, he is doing those people an injustice, and he's a traitor to his own people.” [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that teaching passive endurance under oppression is a betrayal of one's own people. **In simple terms:** Passive endurance is betrayal. Key Takeaway Reject passive oppression. Themes justice resistance identity Mood defiant urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - Activist movements - community organizing - educational workshops Key Concepts Civil rights racial oppression self-determination Questions to Reflect On - How can communities empower active resistance? - What alternatives to passive endurance exist? A Different Perspective Passive strategies can prolong suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Bondage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bondage/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Traitor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traitor/) [Turn the other cheek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-the-other-cheek/) ## Related quotes > [I don't make a deal with Sergeant Bergdahl, where we get Bergdahl, a traitor, and they get their five people that they most wanted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-don-t-make-a-deal-with-sergeant-bergdahl-where-we-get-bergdahl-a/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Anytime you tell a man to turn the other cheek or to be nonviolent in the face of a violent enemy, you're making that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/anytime-you-tell-a-man-to-turn-the-other-cheek-or-to-be-nonviolent-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [If you turn the other cheek, you can be enslaved for 1,000 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-turn-the-other-cheek-you-can-be-enslaved-for-1-000-years/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Nobody should teach the black man in America to turn the other cheek, unless someone is teaching the white man in America to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/nobody-should-teach-the-black-man-in-america-to-turn-the-other-cheek/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The black people of America have been victims of violence at the hands of the white men for four hundred years, and following the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-black-people-of-america-have-been-victims-of-violence-at-the/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I don't trust any white man who teaches Negroes to turn the other cheek or to be nonviolent, which means to be defenseless in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-don-t-trust-any-white-man-who-teaches-negroes-to-turn-the-other/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [ \[Negro\] should realize that he is living in a war zone, and he is at war with an enemy that is as vicious and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/negro-should-realize-that-he-is-living-in-a-war-zone-and-he-is-at-war/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [America's most dangerous and threatening black man is the one who has been kept sealed up by the Northerner in the black ghettos -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/america-s-most-dangerous-and-threatening-black-man-is-the-one-who-has/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [10 years ago the black man knew what his condition was. 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It take, it took, I think, 15,000 troops and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-mean-a-real-police-state-just-to-get-a-token-recognition-of-a-law/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Like Samson, I am ready to pull down the white man's temple, knowing full well that I will be destroyed by the falling rubble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/like-samson-i-am-ready-to-pull-down-the-white-man-s-temple-knowing/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Any negro who occupies a position that was given to him by the white man, if you analyze his function, his function never enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/any-negro-who-occupies-a-position-that-was-given-to-him-by-the-white/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Stumbling is not falling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/stumbling-is-not-falling/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [God is going to punish the white man for his misdeeds toward black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/god-is-going-to-punish-the-white-man-for-his-misdeeds-toward-black/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Much of what I say might sound like it's stirring up trouble, but it's the truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/much-of-what-i-say-might-sound-like-it-s-stirring-up-trouble-but-it-s/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I believe in the brotherhood of all men, but I don't believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn't want to practice it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-believe-in-the-brotherhood-of-all-men-but-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) [Explore all 891 Malcolm X quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. 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