Essay On The Ballot Or The Bullet By Malcolm X

Dr. King and Malcolm X strived to achieve equality for blacks under the law, more specifically, voting rights, desegregation, and more representation in government and politics. However, both men differed immensely in their tactics and strategies. For Dr. King, the negotiations could be brought about by the persistence of a nonviolent plan where, the oppressed people’s determination would overcome the will of the oppressor in the hearts and minds of the nation. He firmly believed in the principles of Mahatma Gandhi’s method of nonviolence resistance, which had been successful in driving the British out of India. For example, according to King, one of the resisters, or black mans goals is not to humiliate the opponent, (the white man) but to win his friendship and understanding. Dr. King proposed a passive resistance, based on “the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice” (“Pilgrimage to Non Violence” King, 112). He claimed the center of nonviolence is based on the principle of love, or understanding. Dr. King emphasized that the white man should not be held responsible for the minorities and blacks being oppressed. Here is where the two leaders oppose each other. Malcolm X felt social injustice and racism had endured too long, and it was

My next point is that Malcolm X was was a man who quickly resorted to violence and considered it a necessary factor for the the rise of African American’s in the US. he was an advocate for violence in place of peaceful protest, not simply as a last resort. Some evidence of this came along in his famous “The Ballot Or The Bullet Speech”. This is a quote directly from the written form of this speech. “Whenever you demonstrate against segregation, whether it is segregated education, segregated housing, or anything else, the law is on your side, and anyone who stands in

The two most influential civil rights activists in American history were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They supported equal rights for every race, but when comparing MLK’s “I Have a Dream’ and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” one sees the similarities in their rhetorical styles and differences in their tone and message. As seen in “I Have a Dream,” MLK has a more civilized and peaceful solution to the nation’s problems; whereas in X’s he has a will to do whatever it may take to solve the problems.

King is too idealistic with his approach. When dealing with racism and oppression, one must deal with it pragmatically because it is a serious issue. Malcolm X said a person with self respect will stand up against oppression and disrespect against him/herself because if they don’t, “their children will look at them and think “shame”. Dr. King certainly would sympathize with Malcolm X’s thinking that witnessing racial discrimination and oppression and he wouldn’t wait patiently either, but he would tell Malcolm X: one thing. He believes that a self-respecting human being will die for his rights. For Malcolm, it is better for him “to rather die than let someone oppress him”. Again, the theme here is that non-violence does not distinguish the individual as a person or self-respecting human being. Non-violence doesn’t distinguish you at all. It is the stance of any means necessary that distinguishing you as someone to be reckoned with. How do you demonstrate to others that you are a person and that you have genuine self-respect? You let them know that you will do whatever it takes, even if you may die in the process, to end the oppression; “I would rather die than let you oppress

and Malcolm X had opposite views when it came to how they wanted to fight the Civil Rights Movement. Martin took the nonviolent path while Malcolm X took the violent path. Martin believed that blacks shouldn’t affiliate themselves with evil by using marching and boycotting as their nonviolent arsenal(Doc 6). He believed that violence increased

He believes that freedom and justice could finally be achieved through nonviolence and his ultimate goal of creating an integrated society. He also explains what is nonviolence mean, in the Letter from Birmingham Jail, “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.”(King, 221) it is an ethos and emphasizes the significance of King’s philosophy of nonviolence on the basis of analyzing the violent conflicts in the world. King uses much pathos in this article that led reader get more emotion for black people’s painful experience, and he gave us lots of examples of black people encounter discrimination. That is the powerful emotion that let reader generate resonance. King’s nonviolent direct action as the only moral and practical method for blacks in their struggle against racism and oppression was quite different from the violence advocated by Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. As the other two important leaders of the civil rights movement, Malcolm X regarded nonviolence as a “begging hat-in-hand, compromising approach” a device for disarming and unmanning blacks. Furthermore, “somebodyness” which the movement of struggle, the demoralized citizen overcomes a disastrous sense of his own worthlessness. King affirms the kind of movement that is emerging under the slogan “black is beautiful”. Although King is speaking

Malcolm X for example strived for the same thing as Dr. King, freedom. The difference is , is that although Malcolm X didn’t persuade or want violence , he didn’t care to stop it either. He believed in self defense for all African Americans and that self- preservation comes first. He says , "I don't mean go out and get violent; but at the same time you should never be nonviolent unless you run into some nonviolence. I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go insane, and I'm not responsible for what I do." People would look on this and make assumptions that every black leader or person strives to violence so why should Martin Luther King be any different. As proven by his speeches, points/views , belief, and demonstrations, he is/was a positive rebel that was heroic because he helped America’s

In America, Malcolm X’s Nation of Islam and Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference both sought to defeat racism of whites towards blacks, empower African Americans, and promote solidarity. However, Malcolm X and King had different methods of getting their points across; King chose the more nonviolent route, while Malcolm X chose the forceful route where the use of violence was allowed. Malcolm X was also the advocate for creating a separate black community, often using the phrase “Separation, not segregation.”

The life of Malcolm X was a very disturbing and interesting one. I say that, because Malcolm X was criminal, minister, a powerful leader, and an icon to his religious followers. Born Malcolm Little, before converting to the Nation of Islam, young Malcolm grew up around a lot of segregation and racism. Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska he had to deal with the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), especially because his father was a preacher, who preached the word of God and rights for African American. After the mysterious death of his father which was heard that the KKK took him and tied him to the train tracks, as a train killed him. Young Malcolm moved to Boston where he became

In the mid 1900’s two different ways to go against the government either you were with Malcolm X who used self defense or with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. non-violently. However, Malcolm X was the best Civil Rights leader he changed the most using self defence as his weapon most arguments are resolved violently. Another, reason after Malcolm X died the fighting did not stop his followers and those who later adopted his ideas created parties which would in return give African Americans freedom ,and other minorities hope. “You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” - Malcolm X

During the Civil rights era, there were two men’s names heard very often. Even though these two men were both leaders of the same cause, they had different opinions on what the African American community had to do in order to be treated equally. Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. were both great leaders with different philosophies.

In an interview in The Young Socialist, Malcolm X said, “The only people in this country who are asked to be nonviolent are black people. I’ve never heard anybody go to the Ku Klux Klan and teach them nonviolence… I believe we should protect ourselves by any means necessary when we are attacked by racists” (Doc.K). Malcolm X didn’t expect the blacks to just sit there quietly when they were attacked because of their race, he wanted the blacks to get up and defend themselves even if that required violence. In the 1960s, Americans would have agreed with Malcolm X’s idea rather than King’s idea because violence would have been an easier way than nonviolence.

On April 3, 1964, Malcolm X gave his famous speech “The Ballot or The Bullet” in Cleveland, Ohio. The speech focuses on calling African Americans to arms and fighting against the “white man”. Malcolm X plays on the commonplace that all humans, no matter what race or religion, should be treated equally and have equal rights. Malcolm X speaks about the importance of black nationalism and the building of a black community that stands up to white manipulation. Malcolm X is able to inspire activism on these issue and grab his audience's attention through several rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos and strong dialect, which help to further his argument.

In Malcom X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” and SDS’s “Port Huron Statement,” they all have a similar goal and that’s to argue about the unfair rights given to minorities. As a citizen in America, principles of equality must be given to everyone according to the American Creed. “The American Creed” is an American Universalism, which the United States as the government for the people must establish these principles of freedom, equality and justice. “The American Creed,” strongly reflects the three historical and intellectual contexts in defining American justice. These three intellectuals justify that if the American Creed is to support all people in American society, then it should also represent the people of color.

The 1960’s, in America, was a time of cultural and racial divide. This sentiment is no more evident than in Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech. In this speech, Malcolm X demanded that his audience should take action against their government leaders. He proposed that there were only two options to resolve this issue, the ballot or the bullet.