During 1962, Malcolm X issued the profound statement, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it."

These memorable words still resonate throughout the corridors of education in every part of the world. He was, of course, speaking in the context of the struggle for the civil rights of millions of black Americans such as himself.

His profound message was that education is the passport to the future for those who prepare for it today. To seek a better education is an advantage to all of us and Malcolm saw this and tried to persuade us by giving this speech and hopefully we will follow it.

We, as future leaders, must start to have the mindset that the enlightenment of education is important, and not only will we be more successful but our lives will be beneficial. Malcolm sought to change the world by giving us this quote to reflect on and he had hoped to see us change our society to a much better environment with better living conditions.

Our decisions will affect tomorrow. If we refuse to face our challenge, it will come back and hurt us in the long run. Our parents fought and secured us a bright future. They fought  many battles. Now it is our turn to fight for the children of tomorrow.

Today, Malcom’s vision is greater than before. He acknowledges that education is not easy to acquire and we need to shape our society. His message is indeed profound. He was forewarning us to focus on what we do, to become successful and to study what we can and to never give up on what we believe in.

Farouk Araie, Benoni.