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. Malcolm X (1925 - 1965) was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. Detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African- Americans in history. Poster created by the Young Socialist Alliance (U.S.), circa 1965 and 1980.