African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist, Malcolm X, in his speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, articulates his views on how the nation should be reacting to current civil rights events and the discrimination taking place throughout the nation. Malcolm X’s purpose is to convey how crucial it is for citizens push for change and choose between ‘the ballot or the bullet’. He utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos in order to persuade citizens to take action in Cleveland. Ohio. Malcolm X begins his speech with ethos, providing a brief background on who he is and how everyone is different in nature but those differences need to put aside because they are all fighting for the same cause. He gains the audience’s trust by stating who
Since the creation of the United States of America there has constantly been a problem with civil rights. Even though African Americans fought for their freedom and rights, they are still facing similar obstacles that they were in the past. There are no real great leaders of the civil rights movement today but in the peak of the civil rights era there were two frontman that advocated for African American rights. One was Martin Luther King Jr., and the other was Malcolm. Martin Luther King Jr’s approach was very different from Malcolm X’s because he used peaceful uprising, while Malcolm X was examined as more assertive. In response to Martin Luther King Jr’s “ I Have A Dream” speech, Malcolm X delivered a speech called “ The Ballot or the Bullet”. In this speech Malcolm is trying to explain the reasons black people needed to stand against the American government. In “ The Ballot or the Bullet” Malcolm X uses the rhetorical terms of ethos, logos and pathos to persuade his listeners and readers.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is the story about a man who greatly impacted American history. Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X as he is more widely known, taught what he believed in regards to segregation, racism, and discrimination. Growing up in a large family with a father Earl Little, a Baptist minister, and his mother Louis Little, who was a homemaker, Malcolm’s life at the time seemed very promising. His father’s involvement in support of the Black National gained him many death threats at the hands of white supremacists. In 1929, they lost their house to fire, and two years later the body of Malcolm’s father was found mutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudice on human behavior, and how society today keeps the ideology of Malcolm X alive.
Malcolm X’s message was more aggressive than Martin Luther King Jr.’s message because Malcolm X stated “If we don’t do something real soon, I think you’ll have to agree that we’re going to be forced either to use the ballot or the bullet.” That statement meant that if they don’t act now and wait until it gets worse they might have to go to the higher powers and vote for things to change or start involving violence in what they’re trying to achieve. Malcolm X was trying to convince people to go out and do something about the issues that were happening at the time or else more people will get even more hurt. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech he talks about how he wants to
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.
It is a strong, unique argument and call to arms against any government which unjustly governs its law-abiding citizens. II. Research Question: How does an individual, in this case - Malcolm X, incite a people to rise against their government, particularly through violent means? III. Artifact Description: This speech, entitled "The Ballot or the Bullet", was given by Malcolm X; the speech itself was performed several times, however the analysis of this paper is based upon the delivery on 3, April 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio.
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
As one of the most proficient civil rights activist of the 1960's, Malcolm X and his speeches were very influential but particularly one speech was highly esteemed, that being the Ballot or the Bullet speech. A speech that was given after the "I have A Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King. Despite, Dr. Martin Luther King being a pacifist and also a civil rights activist as well; Malcolm X was more tyrannical and advocated the use of violence. During this era, the democrats were in control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, therefore both the Senate and the House of Representatives were leaning towards providing more civil rights to African-Americans. The purpose of Malcolm X’s speech was to convince African Americans to
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.
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.
The audience does not have to answer these questions and neither does Malcolm X because they all know that they have nothing to be thankful for (Malcolm X). After, Malcolm X continues to repeat, “It’ll be ballots or it’ll be bullets. It’ll be liberty or it will be death.” He uses the either or fallacy again because he wants to make the audience believe that they truly only have 2 choices, voting for the right politicians or resorting to violence to get what they want (Malcolm X). Malcolm X then tells the audience, “Our mothers and fathers invested sweat and blood. Three hundred and ten years we worked in this country without a dime in return. You let the white man walk around here talking about how rich the country is, but you never stop to think how it got rich so quick. It got rich because you made it rich.” In these lines, he uses pathos and logos. He appeals to logic by bringing up facts about slavery in America, like how it lasted for three hundred and ten years. He appeals to emotion by reminding the audience how much Africans have suffered because of the white man (Malcolm X). Towards the end of his speech, Malcolm X says, “And this time they’re not going like they went last year. They’re not going singing “we shall overcome.” They’re not going with white friends. They’re not going with placards already painted for them. They’re not going with round-trip
In the speech, ‘The ballot or the bullet’, by Malcolm x, he claims that blacks need to exercise their rights, especially to vote, but if the government tries to prevent them from voting: violence might be necessary. Malcolm x uses emotional appeals, logical appeals, and ethical appeals to make his claim.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley is an account of Malcolm X’s evolving perspective on racial justice. Malcolm X was a prominent figure in the Nation of Islam who advocated for black nationalism and separatism. The man who became one of America’s most powerful voices for African Americans was deeply affected by the terrors of racism, which shaped his view of social justice and the condemnation of the white man. The way Malcolm X narrates his experiences changes as his views on race change. At first, he wants readers to feel the destructiveness of racism, so he conveys his experiences through provocative language. When he aims to promote universal peace, he takes on a more optimistic tone. As a
After reading an excerpt of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I felt that both men were conveying their alarm for equality for the African-American race. Malcolm and Martin had already experienced the atrocities that extreme racism brought on to their families. Martin projects a peacemaking, and more rational demeanor Malcolm showed a more radical, controversial, and an unwavering unwillingness position on compromise. The characteristic of standing up for what he or she believes in is one influence that these men have on my life.
“The Ballot or The Bullet” and “Letters from Birmingham Jail” are both refutes of social, economic, and civil injustice in America. The two letters are written by revolutionary activists of civil rights, Martin Luther King, and Malcom X, both written with in a year of one another. Malcom X, author of “The Ballot or The Bullet’ is known for being a support of the black nationalist, and dances on the line of encouraging violence in search for equality. Whereas, Martin Luther, author of Letters from Birmingham Jail” seeks justice through non-violent direct action. Although the tone and style of both letters are contrary to one another, the message is non-the less the same, a pathway to equality through social motivation sparked by a leader.
- [ ] The focus of this speech will be to look in to the pros and cons of X and as well to have a better overview of his thought process. We will examine some of the many doctrines of Malcolm X- which where his “common enemy” theory, idea of can one go against their own race for the greater good of another race. We will as look in to the party that he played in the Black Panther Party .In the end we look at both sides of his argument in the best way possible.