Ballot Or The Bullet Summary

Malcolm X uses forms of persuasion like pathos and logos to develop his argument that black nationalism is the best and only option they have. He uses pathos to sympathize with his people and claims that this is the current situation for all of them, and this is what they need to do to resolve it. He shows this when he states “until we become politically mature, we will always be misled, led astray or deceived…”(X,p4) this text really is there to serve the purpose of showing that malcolm X was all about anti-ignorance and opening the eyes of his people. He was all about teaching his people about black nationalism and what they must do politically and economically.

Malcolm X used specific details throughout the passage to strengthen the credibility of his account. He gave the names of his two “in-class competitors”, Audrey Slaugh and Jimmy Cotton, the name of his English teacher, and the name of his school, Mason. He also indirectly indicated that he was from Lansing, Michigan. His diction also demonstrated sincerity. X used words such as “surprised” and “uneasy” to describe what he felt and the words “turning point” and “I began to change — inside” to show the event had transformed him.

The essay begins with Malcolm X writing about his time in prison and how he became interested in reading. Malcolm X attributes his interest in reading to being frustrated by not being able to express himself sufficiently in letters to the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Mohammed. At one time, Malcolm X was once an articulate street hustler, but when it came to the conventional rules of grammar and the English language Malcolm X acknowledged his weakness. Malcolm X recalls that it was a fellow inmate, Bimbi, who possessed a “ stock of knowledge” and would “take control of conversations”, this made Malcolm X envious (Malcolm X 1001). With a goal, patience and persistence, Malcolm X taught himself how to read.

In New York City on March 22 1964, Malcolm X delivered his speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Malcolm X, a minister of the Nation of Islam and revolutionary advocator of nationalism in the black community, imparted this speech with the intent to reach the black population in a time of change. The adept use of ethos, pathos, and logos to build and maintain a compelling argument, brings about a call to action and firmly conveys his ideas within the black population. Within ethos, pathos, and logos, the implication of elevated language, loaded words, and logical statements, attains a sense of credibility, assurance, and cogency.

He starts off with a rant about a certain politician from Texas. At the time everyone can identify that man right away with just the phrase, “If he wasn’t good in Texas, he sure can’t be good in Washington D.C. Because Texas is a lynch state.” That man is none other than Lyndon Johnson. Johnson portrayed himself as champion of the poor. Making promises for liberal reforms, and advancing the Civil Rights Movement(1). Malcolm X’s words pierce right through Johnson’s veneer with just the phrase, “So it’s time in 1964 to wake.” Telling the 22 million African-American to wake from the

Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. He was known for being an outspoken activist who was highly vocal about the poor treatment of blacks in the United States. Malcolm X lived from 1925 to 1965 and was involved in one of the most important aspect for equal rights in American history. Malcolm X was known for many of his speeches, but the speech, "The Ballot or the Bullet” was in which he identifies racial inequality. Malcolm X was 39 years old when he delivered this powerful speech to the public at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. He was a fervent advocate for black empowerment, self-defense, and the rejection of white supremacy. Throughout his life, Malcolm underwent significant ideological progression, evolving from a follower of the Nation of Islam to a more inclusive and universalist stance on race relations. This essay will analyze Malcolm's ideological progression and make a claim about which stage of his teachings are most responsible for his enduring popular legacy.

In 1963 John F. Kennedy proposed the civil rights bill to ban discrimination against a person’s race, religion, sex, and nationality in public spaces and for job. This bill was blocked by the Southern Democrats, also called the Dixiecrats, providing the context for Malcolm X’s speech given April 3, 1964. Malcolm X begins by clarifying that he is not speaking about his personal religious beliefs, but instead speaking to all blacks to join him in Black Nationalism in defense of their culture, their rights, and their freedom. The unjust treatment from the government in withholding blacks’ freedom, as well as the white man’s exploitation of the uneducated blacks are reasons enough to revolt and assert change. Malcolm directs the responsibility of change onto every black to educate themselves in business and politics in order to build up their poverty-stricken communities.

Malcolm never really believed in the collective actions of peaceful assembly and inclusion because he had a different attitude in addressing the situation. His speech tailored to a more resistant approach that offered little hope to these African Americans for the future other than creating another system where they can be included. If we are analyzing Malcolm's use of ethos, pathos, and logos, we come to find out that his ideology of black nationalism is unrealistic and hinders the progression of the Civil Rights movement by brainwashing a group of people to into thinking that black nationalism is the only way for change to happen. Black nationalism is not the key to the problems of the African Americans system—working within the system is. Hence, this Ballot or the Bullet speech is a proverb that should be left in the history books because we do not need an ideology that promotes inequality in the United

Malcolm X believed that a violent approach to activism would help the African-American community because he believed that the civil rights movement was a fictitious solution, and that African-Americans should not attempt to become integrated with the whites. Malcolm X argued that integration is unacceptable for the black community. His angry rhetoric contributed a foundation for Black Power and black nationalism. Malcolm X teaches one of his followers to consider any means necessary. This meant he promotes violence to create a process with establishing the black identity and independence. He provides a passionate speech, demanding the African Americans to question themselves where they came from and what are they doing. He ordered the African

On April 12, 1964 Malcolm X, born Malcom Little, delivered his famous Ballot or the Bullet speech before of crowd in Detroit, Michigan. The speech, was Malcom’s way of appealing to the black community to come to self-realization and uplift themselves. In his speech, the noted civil rights leader presents the three core philosophies of Black Nationalism: political, economic and social. This essay will provide an in-depth analysis of the three core philosophies of the Black Nationalism Movement and assess how these same issues affect us today.

In 1964, Malcolm X gave a speech entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet” which described how African Americans should fight for civil-rights in America. Malcolm X emphasizes the importance of voting as a solution to ending discrimination against African Americans. He addresses both the poor voting decisions and also the denial of legitimate voting rights to African Americans. Because elections had been so narrowly decided in recent elections, the Black vote is the deciding factor in elections. Whites also have prevented African Americans in the electoral process. Malcolm X says that either "the ballot or the bullet" will come next in the civil rights struggle. This meant that government must allow African Americans to legitimately vote or

Such history included slavery and racism in the United States. He also referred to the oppression of the blacks in the country and the whole world and proceeded to properly connect the two. Malcolm X contended that Africans find themselves enslaved or oppressed by the white man. That it was always the white people that supported racism and racial segregation and mistreated the Africans. Malcolm X insisted that the need to have a united society wherein anybody and everybody, racial differences notwithstanding, was seen as equal had been met with numerous challenges therefore would not be the clear path they would follow.

Malcolm X was a self-educated man who was imprisoned for ten years. He converted to the Islam religion and preached separatist philosophy before he switched his ideas to the Civil Rights Movement. The major purpose of Malcolm X’s piece was to notify people across the country of all the struggles African Americans were put through if they wanted an education. He encouraged African Americans to fight for the rights they deserved. Malcolm X changed his tone several times throughout the piece and used very rigorous language to appeal to his audience. The major tones of this piece were anger and passion. These were the

One example of X’s use of ethical appeals is when he states, “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.”(Paragraph 2) Malcolm X is a saying to use whatever force is necessary while fighting for freedom. Christian ministers have been fighting for black civil rights, X is a muslim minister that’s fighting for civil-rights. Malcolm x makes the audience realize that No matter what religion or even ethnicity, they need to do whatever it takes to get their rights. Another example of X’s use of ethical appeals is when he says “Let the world know how bloody his hands are, let the world know the hypocrisy that’s practiced over here. Let it be the ballot or the bullet, Let him know that it must be the ballot or the bullet.”(Paragraph 37) X wants the audience to know that the only way they can fight for their rights is either by political campaigns or violence. America’s ‘morals’ seem to be non-existent:They preach false freedom and practice Hypocrisy. Reflecting back to Franklin's “Give me liberty or give me death” , Malcolm x is basically saying the same thing when he says “The ballot or the bullet”. Malcolm x fears that if they don’t do anything now, they will never get anything out of it. A last example of X’s use of ethical appeals is when he states “All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of a white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.”(Paragraph 3) Malcolm X wants the audience to realize that whites have done nothing but oppress the blacks and that is wrong of them to do. X also wants to make clear that racism is wrong and blacks are humans too,so they deserve their