By any means necessary - Wikipedia By any means necessary For other uses, see By any means necessary ( disambiguation ). This poster, based on a famous photograph from Ebony, popularized the slogan. By any means necessary is a translation of a phrase used by French intellectual Jean - Paul Sartre in his play Dirty Hands. It entered the popular civil rights culture through a speech given by Malcolm X at the Organization of Afro - American Unity founding rally on June 28, 1964. It is generally considered to leave open all available tactics for the desired ends, including violence ; however, the `` necessary '' qualifier adds a caveat -- if violence is not necessary, then presumably, it should not be used. Contents 1 Jean - Paul Sartre 2 Malcolm X 2.1 Mandela case 3 See also 4 References Jean - Paul Sartre The phrase is translation of a sentence used in French intellectual Jean - Paul Sartre 's play Dirty Hands : I was not the one to invent lies : they were created in a society divided by class and each of us inherited lies when we were born. It is not by refusing to lie that we will abolish lies : it is by eradicating class by any means necessary. -- Jean - Paul Sartre, Dirty Hands : act 5, scene 3. 1963 Malcolm X It entered the popular culture through a speech given by Malcolm X in the last year of his life. We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary. -- Malcolm X, 1965 Mandela case In the final scene of the 1992 movie Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela -- recently released after 27 years of political imprisonment -- appears as a schoolteacher in a Soweto classroom. Yet Mandela informed director Spike Lee that he could not utter the famous final phrase `` by any means necessary '' on camera ; fearing that the apartheid government would use it against him if he did. Lee obliged, and the final seconds of the film feature black - and - white footage of Malcolm X himself delivering the phrase. See also The end justifies the means By hook or by crook References Jump up ^ `` NUMBER : 48220 ''. The Columbia World of Quotations. Archived from the original on 2007 - 02 - 10. Retrieved 2007 - 01 - 28. Jump up ^ Malcolm X ( 1992 ). By Any Means Necessary ( Malcolm X Speeches & Writings ). New York : Pathfinder Press. ISBN 0 - 87348 - 754 - 0. Jump up ^ Cunningham, Matthew ( 3 June 2004 ). `` Creme cameos ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 26. ^ Jump up to : Guerrero, Ed ( 1993 ). Framing Blackness : The African American Image in Film. Temple University Press. p. 202. ISBN 1 - 56639 - 126 - 1. Malcolm X Family Betty Shabazz ( wife ) Attallah Shabazz ( daughter ) Qubilah Shabazz ( daughter ) Ilyasah Shabazz ( daughter ) Malcolm Shabazz ( grandson ) Organizations Nation of Islam Muslim Mosque, Inc. Organization of Afro - American Unity Places Malcolm X House Site Mosque No. 7 Mosque No. 11 Mosque No. 12 Audubon Ballroom Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard Malcolm X Shabazz High School Malcolm Shabazz City High School Malcolm X College Media Authored Message to the Grass Roots ( 1963 ) The Ballot or the Bullet ( 1964 ) The Diary of Malcolm X ( 1964 ) The Autobiography of Malcolm X ( 1965 ) About The Hate That Hate Produced X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X 1972 documentary Death of a Prophet 1992 film soundtrack Malcolm X : Make It Plain Seven Songs for Malcolm X Growing Up X Malcolm X : A Life of Reinvention A Lie of Reinvention : Correcting Manning Marable 's Malcolm X An Eye on X The Meeting Malcolm 's Echo Related Elijah Muhammad Rowena Moore Hayer affidavits Malcolm X Day Malcolm X Foundation This article about a political term is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=By_any_means_necessary&oldid=812413247 '' Categories : Political violence Political catchphrases Malcolm X Political term stubs Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 27 November 2017, at 18 : 58. About Wikipedia

Question: where did by any means necessary come from
Answer: French intellectual Jean-Paul Sartre in his play Dirty Hands