The Autobiography of Malcolm X Race Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)

Quote #4

And we laughed about the scared little Chinese whose restaurant didn't have a hand laid on it, because the rioters just about convulsed laughing when they saw the sign the Chinese had hastily stuck on his front door: "Me Colored Too." (7.30)

Do you know the term people of color? It refers to all people of any race that other than white. So technically, this Chinese shop owner is correct. But why do you think the rioters laugh at their sign?

Quote #5

She had also noticed the color preference. I never could substitute in an emergency, she would tell me with a laugh, because I was too light. She told me that nearly every white woman in her clientele would specify "a black one;" sometimes they would say "a real one," meaning black, no brown Negroes, no red Negroes. (7.71)

Why do you think the clientele only want very dark skinned black people? Why do you think there is such a huge business in interracial prostitution to begin with? We have a theory that the clients are into the taboo of sexual relationships between races. So the darker the person, the more taboo, and the more satisfying the experience.

Quote #6

It was that a white man, a Negro, and a Jew were given one wish each. The white man asked for securities; the Negro asked for a lot of money; the Jew asked for some imitation jewelry "and that colored boy's address." (2.10)

Jokes are often a good way to understand what society really thinks. So what does this joke tell us about society's perception of white gentiles, Jews, and black people?