Malcolm X's The Ballot Or The Bullet

686 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of the civil rights movement

The 1960’s civil rights movement was a critical period in American history. One of the most prominent figures of this era was Malcolm X. His main goal was for African Americans to secure access to employment and to get protection in the legal system. His most famous speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” clearly shows his stance on civil rights. Malcolm X’s speech “Ballot or the Bullet”, tried to motivate his audience to get involved in civil right movement, either by legislation, the ballot, or by means of violence, the bullet. He points out that if the political system (the ballot) won’t give African Americans their due, the civil rebellion (the bullet) will. He also convinced his audience that doing nothing was not an option. Malcolm X in …show more content…

They control two-thirds of the House vote. Why can't they pass something that will help you and me? In the Senate, there are 67 senators who are of the Democratic Party. Only 33 of them are Republicans…And what have they [Democrats] given you for it? Four years in office, and just now getting around to some civil-rights legislation.” Malcolm X used these statistics to prove his point that the government specifically the democratic party isn’t doing anything about inequality plaguing the nation. He points out that the democratic party has done nothing so there should be a change in legislative leaders. He is motivating the African American communities to become politically more active and bring changes in …show more content…

They were also well-known African American civil rights activist of the 1960s. He also explains that they were also ministers in their perspective religions. Since most of his audiences were Christian African-Americans, he established his credibility by comparing himself to these famous men as a fellow minister. He said in the speech, “I myself am a minister, not a Christian minister, but a Muslim minister; and I believe in action on all fronts by whatever means necessary”. By doing that, he built up a support on which he could speak his ideas to the listening crowd and convince them to become active and aware about civil rights. Although Malcolm X makes use of his ministerial background as a basis of credibility, he also tried to make the speech focused on civil rights movement, rather make his speech about converting to his religion. He said in the speech, “Although I'm still a Muslim, I'm not here tonight to discuss my religion. I'm not here to try and change your religion”. By getting rid of the ideas of converting to a Muslim religion in his speech, he made his audiences listen and support him without defending their religious views. Then., Malcom X uses pathos when he says “That's all you have to do. If you don't do it, someone else will. If you don't take this kind of stand, your little children will grow up and look at you and think "shame." By saying

Show More
Related

  • MArtin Luther KIng Jr vs Malcolm X

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Civil Rights movement was a movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern States that became nationally recognized in the middle of the 1950s. Though American slaves were given basic civil rights through the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments of the Constitution, African Americans still had a hard time trying to get federal protection of their newly found rights. A man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the American Civil rights Leaders who used nonviolence in order to reach a social change. He used nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice against African Americans like segregation laws. He wasn’t just fighting for the equality of all African American but was also fighting for the equality of all men and women. Malcolm X is another great leader who fought for what he believed in. He was a black activist who, unlike King, promoted a little violence. Malcolm X wanted the nation (African Americans) to become more active in the civil rights protests. Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had different methods for gaining civil rights. I believe that Martin Luther King Jr. method was more effective thanMalcolm X methods. In King “’Letter from Birmingham Jail” King defends himself on writing about why he is using nonviolent resistance to racism. Throughout the letter he shows his reasoning using logic, emotion, and ethics. Throughout his life King used this same method to reach how to hundred of thousands of African Americans.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of The Ballot Or The Bullet

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It’ll be the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death.” These are the famous words of Malcolm X in his speech The Ballot or the Bullet. In April, 1964 Malcolm X stood in front of a large crowd in Cleveland, Ohio and explained what the ballot or bullet meant. He was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and fought to make all African-Americans equal. Malcolm X explained to his audience using a great appeal to ethos, pathos and logos that African-Americans should fight for racial economic and social justice without different religion views standing in the way. He told his audience instead of fighting, meaning the bullet, they could vote for their own leaders or better leaders to represent them, meaning the ballot.

    Read More

  • Malcolm X Book Analysis

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm X was often encountered by Muslims from other countries who wished to “enlighten” him with what they felt was true Islam. He was initially very skeptical towards these claims but eventually his curiosity got the better of him. To get to know the religion better, Malcolm was directed by his friends to an Egyptian professor in New York, Dr. Mahmoud Youssef

    Read More

  • Fannie Lou Hamer and Malcolm X

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Fannie Lou Hamer and Malcolm X rejected the idea that the main goal of the civil rights movement should be based on an aspiration to gain rights “equal” to those of white men and to assimilate into white culture. They instead emphasized a need to empower Black Americans.1 Their ideas were considered radical at a time when Martin Luther King Jr. preached the potential of white and black americans to overcome “the race issue” together and in a gradual manner. Malcolm X’s attempt to achieve his goals through revolutionary top-down methods and Fannie Lou Hamer’s focus on the need for grassroots movements contributed to the Civil Rights movement significantly by encouraging and assisting Black Americans.

    Read More

  • John F. Kennedy and the Civil Rights Movement

    2936 Words  | 6 Pages

    In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. During his campaign he had promised to lead the country down the right path with the civil rights movement. This campaign promise had brought hope to many African-Americans throughout the nation. Ever since Lincoln, African-Americans have tended to side with the democrats and this election was no different. The Kennedy administration had noticed that the key to the presidency was partially the civil rights issue. While many citizens were on Kennedy’s side, he had his share of opposition. Malcolm X differed on the view of the President and observed that the civil rights movement wasn’t happening at the speed Kennedy had pledged. Malcolm X possessed other reasons for his dislike of John F. Kennedy and his brothers, especially Robert. The Kennedy government stood for racial liberalism and Malcolm X argued their true intentions for the civil rights movement weren’t in the best interest of the black population. This tension streamed both ways. John Kennedy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation felt that Malcolm X had become a threat to national security. James Baldwin has written essays that have included the repeated attacks on the white liberal and supports Malcolm in many of his theories and actions.

    Read More

  • Influence On Malcolm X

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    “I’m for the truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole” (X). This quote by Malcolm X represented his attitude towards equality and self-empowerment. The true Malcolm X was a passionate human rights activist as well as an extremely outspoken man during the fifties and sixties. X encouraged millions of African Americans to fight for what they believed in and to take pride in their ethnicity. X persuaded a multitude of African Americans that they are supreme and should not be degraded for their skin color. He learned at a very early age if he wanted something in life, he had to make some noise

    Read More

  • Malcolm X

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm X’s forceful declamations attracted a lot of publicity as well as a large personal following. In his speeches he implored black people to separate from the whites and gain their freedom “by any means necessary.” This became his “motto.” Through many public political and religious protests Malcolm X became notorious with the white community. He became the most well known figure in the Islam Nation.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of Malcolm X's Speech, The Ballot Or The Bullet

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm X: His very name is a stab to the beliefs of the white supremacists of his time—"X" symbolizing "the rejection of ‘slave-names' and the absence of an inherited African name to take its place." Similarly, in his speech "The Ballot or the Bullet", Malcolm X denounces the actions of the white population, without any attempts to appeal to them; his approach to the civil rights issue is in complete opposition to the tactics of other civil rights leaders of his time, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Rather than trying to integrate the black community into the white, he focuses on the complete separation of them: he doesn't want the blacks to integrate into the white hotels, he wants blacks to own the hotels. He believed that the black population had to break the psychological, cultural, economic, and political dependency on their oppressors. By using tactical phrasing of his sentences that connects to his audience emotionally, Malcolm X attacks the tendency of African-Americans to identify with White America, and insists they identify instead with Africans, their ancestors; thus, he promotes his purpose: to instill a feeling of self-respect and self-help in his fellow African-Americans, which in turn is the stepping stone to the liberation of the Black people.

    Read More

  • Malcolm X

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1950's and 1960's were a time of racial turmoil throughout most of the United States. Segregation between blacks and whites was still in full effect, African Americans had to drink from different water fountains, eat at different restaurants, and even shop at different stores than their Anglo "neighbors". Many people and organizations fought valiantly for equality in the U.S. such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King jr. and the NAACP. The roles they played were critical in the civil rights movement were critical, the actions they took included peaceful demonstrations and marches, public speeches, and boycotts such as the one that took place in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. One man stands out among all of these leaders though, Malcolm X. Although fighting for the same thing as his colleagues in the civil rights movements, he was considered by many to represent the more extreme side of the battle for equality in the United States. It is his standout views and beliefs that make Malcolm X one of the most prominent and fascinating African-American leaders in the 1950's and 60's.

    Read More

  • Origins of Funk Music

    2188 Words  | 5 Pages

    After the death of Malcolm X the movement started to get funky. It seemed as though after the assinaition of Malcom X, the revolution’s focal point began to change. The movement began to head towards a more intense, and nitty gritty level. It seemed as though all the non-violent organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, as well as the Christian Leadership Conference had little hold on what was about to happen to the movement. The death of Malcolm X brought a new direction in the movement. In a society of a violent system it was hard for young blacks to take charge in an non-violent organization, it seemed to be a hypocrisy. And the idea of tolerance was wearing thin for the whole generation.

    Read More

  • Separate and Unequal

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    Until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his life’s work was dedicated to the nonviolent actions of blacks to gain the freedoms they were promised in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. He believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1963). These injustices had become so burdensome to blacks that they were “plunged into an abyss of despair” (King, 1963). The nonviolent actions of the sit-ins, boycotts, and marches were so the “individual could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths…to help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism” and ultimately lead to “inevitably opening the door to negotiation” (King, 1963). Not only was King’s approach effective with the older black generation, it was also successful with white people. They did not feel threatened when approached by King. White people gained a sense of empathy towards the plight of black freedom as King’s promise of nonviolence did not threaten their livelihood. Malcolm X viewed the world similarly to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., however; his beliefs to changing the status quo were slightly different from his political counterpart. Malcolm X realized that “anger could blind human vision” (X, 1965). In realizing this, X knew that in order to achieve racial freedom blacks had to “forget hypocritical politics and propaganda” (X, 1965). While Malcolm X was more so an advocate for violent forces against white people than King, X merely used force when it became necessary for defense. According to X, “I don’t go for non-violence if it also means a delayed solution. I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to American black man’s problem” (X, 1965). However, this le...

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Malcolm X And Martin Luther King

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 20th century was a definitive time period for the Black civil rights movement. An era where the status quo was blatant hatred and oppression of African Americans, a time when a black son would watch his father suffer the indignity of being called a “boy” by a young white kid and say nothing in reply but “yes sir”. Where a Black person can be whipped or lynched for anything as little as not getting off the sidewalk when approaching a white person, for looking into their eyes, or worse, “for committing the unpardonable crime of attempting to vote.” In the midst of the racial crises and fight for social equality were Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who despite their difference in philosophies were “icons of social justice movement both in the United States and around the world” .

    Read More

  • Malcolm X Thesis

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm X throughout his whole life was one person. However, given his experiences, evolutions and phases that he went through in his 39-year life, he went by several different names. From the beginning he struggled with his racial and religious identity which led him to start going by different names. When he had a revelation he would then change his name. Malcolm X is most remembered for being a former criminal turned key figure in the civil rights movement next to the likes of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Unlike those two however he was most known for his advocacy for Black Nationalism and suggested that violence is the answer. His most famous phrase was how he we wanted freedom and equality “by any means necessary”, in a very

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of Ballot or the Bullet Sppech by Malcolm X

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Works Cited American Rhetoric. “Malcolm X: Ballot or the Bullet.” Web. 25 May 2010 .

    Read More

  • The Ballot Or The Bullet By Martin Luther King

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Malcolm X, an associate of the Black Panthers and a brother of the Black muslime movement, went on to write “The Ballot or the Bullet”; was this not only a response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech opposing violence, he did not share Martin’s nonviolent ways, and he was sure of a violent seizure of civil rights. Due to the frustration built up with the slow gesture of white people in reaching a decision on black rights in America.

    Read More

More about Malcolm X's The Ballot Or The Bullet

Open Document