Malcolm X -- The Ballot or the Bullet

Cory Methodist Church was first delivered on Cleveland, OH, April 3, 1964

Malcolm X was responding to Martin Luther King's philosophy of nonviolence and the 1963 March on Washington.

Malcolm X used the idea of "whatever means necessary" to achieve freedom. Malcolm X advocated black nationalism. In the Introduction to the speech he asks:

 The question tonight, as I understand it, is "The Negro Revolt, and Where Do We Go From Here?" or "What Next?" In my little humble way of understanding it, it points toward either the ballot or the bullet.

 Before we try and explain what is meant by the ballot or the bullet, I would like to clarify something concerning myself. I'm still a Muslim, my religion is still Islam. That's my personal belief. Just as Adam Clayton Powell is a Christian minister who heads the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, but at the same time takes part in the political struggles to try and bring about rights to the black people in this country; and Dr. Martin Luther King is a Christian minister down in Atlanta, Georgia, who heads another organization fighting for the civil rights of black people in this country; and Rev. Galamison, I guess you've heard of him, is another Christian minister in New York who has been deeply involved in the school boycotts to eliminate segregated education; well, I myself am a minister; and I believe in action on all fronts by whatever means necessary.

 Malcolm X tried to get all black people to identify with each other because they are all oppressed by the white man:Whether you're educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you're going to catch hell just like I am. We're all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same man. He just happens to be a white man. All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.

Listen or read the entire speech at - http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxballotorbullet.htm

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brief bio: http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/article-9050305

http://www.brothermalcolm.net/studyguide/study_guide.pdf

 

© Gloria M. Boone 2002 -2007