quote · Legacy record
I learned early that crying out in protest could accomplish things. My older brothers and sister had started to school when, sometimes, they would come in and ask for a buttered biscuit or something and my mother, impatiently, would tell them no. But I would cry out and make a fuss until I got what I wanted. I remember well how my mother asked me why I couldn't be a nice boy like Wilfred; but I would think to myself that Wilfred, for being so nice and quiet, often stayed hungry. So early in life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.
I learned early that crying out in protest could accomplish things. My older brothers and sister had started to school when, sometimes, they would come in and ask for a buttered biscuit or something and my mother, impatiently, would tell them no. But I would cry out and make a fuss until I got what I wanted. I remember well how my mother asked me why I couldn't be a nice boy like Wilfred; but I would think to myself that Wilfred, for being so nice and quiet, often stayed hungry. So early in life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.
Approximate author period: c. 1945 AD · modern
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- Author or tradition
- Malcolm X
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
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- Approximate author period: c. 1945 AD · modern
Approximate author-period anchor from life dates 1925 to 1965; Wikidata Q43303, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q43303 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 423655; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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