Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. His dream was that one day whites and blacks could live together in equality. King and his rhetoric of idealism are what come to mind for most people when they think about the civil rights movement, but there is another famous civil rights leader who had some very different ideas than King. Malcolm X was the leader of the more radical civil rights movement in the early 1960’s. Perhaps no speech better exemplifies X’s stance on civil rights than the “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech of 1964.
This speech outlines X’s opinions on integration, African Americans’ role in government and the community, and how to bring about social change. The world was changing in the 1960’s, and it is important to remember that this change was not always as Dr. King’s rhetoric portrayed it, for every shard of light also casts a shadow. That shadow is Malcolm X and “The Ballot or the Bullet. ” Biography Before anything can be said about “The Ballot or the Bullet”, it is important to examine who Malcolm X was. X was born in 1925.
His birth certificate reads Malcolm Little, but he would undergo a rebirth later in his life when he was sent to jail for burglary. While in jail, he completed his education and converted to Islam. This conversion would be the pivotal point in his life X became involved with the Nation of Islam, a rising Islamic group that focused on separatism rather than integration. X worked with the Nation of Islam until March 1964 when he broke away. This break was due to the revelation that the leader of the Nation of Islam had been having relations with six different women.
This was in contrast to the teaching of the Nation of Islam, and X felt that he could not follow a false prophet. Historical Context Now that the person behind “The Ballot or the Bullet” has been expanded upon, it is necessary to discuss the context under which this speech was given. The 1960’s was a period marked by civil unrest. The civil rights movement was at its peak and the nation was responding. There were acts of violence being committed all over the country against African Americans and those that supported civil rights.
Birmingham, Alabama was a hotspot where multiple bombings took place and the hate was palpable. Despite the overwhelming hate welling up against African Americans in the 1960’s, Martin Luther King emerged with his rhetoric of nonviolence. While Malcolm X trained himself in the ways of Islam, King was preaching integration and nonviolent protest. King helped organize a march on Washington in 1963 to raise awareness about the civil rights issue in America. This was an attempt to push through Congress legislation on civil rights.
However, by April of 1964 Congress had still not passed a civil rights bill and African Americans everywhere weren’t happy about this. The civil rights movement was becoming bureaucratized and many young people were not happy with speed of change. Their dissatisfaction with the Congress and the civil rights movement set the stage for “The Ballot or the Bullet. ” Rhetorical Problems Malcolm X faced various rhetorical problems when giving his speech. His problems were largely due to purpose related obstacles. The first of these obstacles was the cost.
African Americans were being jailed for protesting and often physically harmed as well. Also, even if African Americans protested and suffered the consequences, there was no guarantee that any change would occur. It was a long and hard road, and X had to convince African Americans that it would all be worth it. The second purpose related obstacle was control. African Americans questioned whether or not they could actually bring about social change. The inequality in America had existed since Africans had first been brought to the New World.
African Americans questioned if they had the power to make the change that Malcolm X preached. He not only had to provide the African American community with a solution to their plight, but also had to make them feel empowered to bring about this change. Audience Malcolm X’s empirical audience for “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech was largely, if not solely, African American. They were all common, everyday people who were discontent with America and the civil rights movement. They were searching for a solution, and “The Ballot or the Bullet” was their answer.
The target audience for this speech was the entire African American population of America. Malcolm X knew that for his ideas to succeed that African Americans had to unite and work together. This would prove very difficult because X was a separatist, which made it difficult for his message to carry over to integrationists. The agents of change for this speech were the African Americans all over the nation. This trait is unique to this speech because the agents of change for most speeches are usually government officials or people of power.
However, “The Ballot or the Bullet” sought to empower the common African American. It was through the combined efforts of the common man that social change would come. Speaker’s Goals X’s goal for this speech was to persuade the audience to take action into their own hands and bring about social change. He wanted to inspire the audience to rely on themselves rather than politicians in Washington and the corruption that the white government had shown them. X wanted to initiate action and then maintain that action.
He wanted an entire movement to begin that would bring about change. This speech would explain how this was all possible and also instill his beliefs within the audience. Analysis of Speech and Rhetorical Strategies “The Ballot or the Bullet” began with Malcolm X’s attempt to connect with his audience. He began by greeting both friends and enemies because, “I just can’t believe everyone in here is a friend and I don’t want to leave anybody out” (X, 1964). In this way, X identified with the audience members that are coming in with some inertia.
He wanted to let those opposed to him know that he knew they were there and he would address them. After this brief nod toward his opposition, X announced what was to come next for the civil rights movement. X said that the future, “… points toward either the ballot or the bullet” (X, 1964). X skillfully grabbed the attention of the audience with this one phrase. The ballot symbolized the right to vote, a thing that was denied to them for so long. The bullet symbolized something else. It symbolized the dark side of the civil rights struggle.
It symbolized the desire of the African American population to retaliate for the mistreatment of their people. With this opening statement, X captured the audience’s attention and never let them go. X then told the audience to take a step back from what he just said and listen to what he had to say about himself and the speech he was going to give. X told the audience that he was not there to talk about the Muslim faith or make any connection between the civil rights movement and his religion. By doing this, Malcolm X had accomplished two things.
First of all, he had immediately shown that what he was going to talk about that evening was a universal problem and one that did not require any kind of religious conversion. This is a key difference in this speech as compared to some that X made when he was still involved with the Nation of Islam. Secondly, X identified with his audience by doing this. X talks about Christians, Muslims, and all other types of religions working together and putting aside their differences to fight for their rights. This was an attempt to unify the audience and it was successful in that respect.
Finally, by immediately moving away from the phrase, “The ballot or the bullet,” X continued to hold everyone’s attention. They wanted to know what he was talking about and they were hanging on every word. X then made a brief count of the social injustices that had been committed against African Americans. He used repetition of the phrase, “…at the hands of the white man” (X, 1964). This repetition was meant to build up the passion that the African Americans in the audience felt against whites. However, X used great tact by then saying, “Now, in speaking like this it doesn’t mean that we’re anti-white…”(X, 1964).
X kept the crowd right on the edge, almost ready to explode with the tension they felt, but he kept them from becoming frenzied by reminding them throughout the speech that the solution to civil rights did not need to be in hate and violence. But immediately after stating that they are not to be anti-white, X continues, “…but it does mean that we’re anti-exploitation, we’re anti-degradation, we’re anti-oppression. And if the white man doesn’t want us to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing, exploiting, and degrading us” (X, 1964). X used this back-and-forth rhetoric to keep the audience agitated, but under control.
In this way, he kept their attention and also made the audience feel empowered. He had already started to solve his purpose related obstacle of control. X continued by discussing the situation in Vietnam. Even though he mentioned it only briefly, what he said stuck with the audience. X told the audience that if they could fight for a cause they do not believe in or do not know then they should be able to fight for a cause they do believe in. This was a remark made toward those in the audience who were worried about the cost of X’s plan. They were not sure if they were ready to make such a commitment.
However, X appealed with logos and pathos when he said, “…if you fight here, you will at least know what you’re fighting for” (X, 1964). From this point on, X began a series of attacks against the American government and the politicians who had failed to bring about social change. He immediately pointed out the seemingly endless filibustering going on in Congress. He attributed these filibusters to southern Democrats, known at the time as Dixiecrats. However, X then announced that a Dixiecrat was, “…nothing but a Democrat in disguise” (X, 1964).
X continued by attacking the Democrats for not expelling the Dixiecrats from their party. He said that, “They have got a con game going on, a political con game, and you and I are in the middle” (X, 1964). “It is not a government that is made up of representatives of the people. Half of the people in the South can’t even vote… Half of the senators and congressmen… are there illegally, are there unconstitutionally” (X, 1964). This was X’s message to the people. The government that had been denying them rights was a false government because it denied them rights.
X had a message for those in Congress as well. He said, “Any person in Congress right now, who is there from a state or a district where the voting rights of the people are violated, that particular person should be expelled from Congress” (X, 1964). X told the audience that removing these senators and congressmen the path would be clear for change. However, rather than pushing Congress for legislation, X told the audience that they could cut out the middle man by simply electing African Americans to office. By doing that, African Americans could initiate change from the inside.
X then began detailing what exactly was the “con game” that was going on in Washington. He said of the Democratic Party that, “When you see the amount of power that would be lost by the Democratic Party if it were to lose the Dixiecrat wing, or branch, or element, you can see where it’s against the interests of the Democrats to give voting rights to Negroes…”(X, 1964). Essentially, X believed that the Democratic Party was purposely keeping the Dixiecrats in their party so that they would not lose their majority in Congress, and therefore the Democrats were denying African Americans their rights.
After revealing the hidden agenda of the Democratic Party, X finally illuminated a little more about what was meant by “the ballot or the bullet. ” X declared that, “…it’s time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what we’re supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we don’t cast a ballot, it’s going to end up in a situation where we’re going to have to cast a bullet” (X, 1964). This was an ultimatum to Congress and those who had oppressed the African American people.
It was time that the African Americans were given their right to cast a ballot, or else they would have to turn to action. That action was never specified, though the thoughts and ideas associated with the word “bullet” are not hard to imagine. Another transition takes place here, and X began telling the audience how they should respond to everything he had just mentioned. First he addressed those who were beginning to be compliant with the progress made in the civil rights battle so far.
He said to them, “You haven’t even made progress, if what’s being given to you, you should have had already. That’s not progress” (X, 1964). X continued by listing the various ways in which the government had taken advantage of African Americans and denied them rights since they first came to America. X told the audience that, “We have made a greater contribution and have collected less” (X, 1964). After rallying the audience behind him, X told the audience that it was time to stop allowing the police and government to interfere with their movement for equality.
He told the audience that, “When you demonstrate against segregation, the law is on your side…Any time you demonstrate against segregation and a man has the audacity to put a police dog on you, kill that dog” (X, 1964). After making such an inflammatory statement, X reassured the audience that he was not encouraging violent protest. However, X did tell the audience that when they are met with violence, then violence is what should be expected in return. He told the audience, “I’m nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me” (X, 1964).
This argument was very strong because it appealed logically because nonviolence was perceived as the most appropriate way to bring about change, but it also appealed emotionally to the African American’s desire to act on the situation. X told the audience that there was no reason to take their complaints to the politicians in Washington because they were conspiring against the African Americans. X urged the audience to instead take the battle into their own hands. He told them that it was a matter of guerilla warfare against the establishment. The ivil rights movement would come to strike the system when it least expected it. X then compared the power of the civil rights movement to that of various famous guerilla warriors from the past such as the Japanese during WWII. X one way that true change could be made in the battle for civil rights was to make sure to cast your vote so that you could create change within. X said, “Don’t be throwing out any ballots. A ballot is like a bullet. You don’t throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket” (X, 1964).
X did not want anyone to cast a ballot unless they understood the impact their vote could have. “The economic philosophy of black nationalism is pure and simple. It only means that we should control the economy of our community” (X, 1964). X used this statement to set up his stance on integration. X was a strong supporter of separatism. He wanted African Americans and whites to stay within their own communities. X’s main point in this segment of the speech was that if the African Americans wanted to have control of their world, they needed to start by having control of their community.
This meant spending money only in establishments owned by African Americans. X said, “Once you gain control of the economy of your own community, then you don’t have to picket and boycott and beg some cracker downtown for a job in his business” (X, 1964). X defended his position on separatism by telling the audience that, “The white man is more afraid of separation than he is of integration. Segregation means that he puts you away from him, but not far enough for you to be out of his jurisdiction; separation means you’re gone” (X, 1964).
With this statement, X portrayed separatism as more appealing than integration. He told the audience that integration would not end segregation. X defined a segregated community as, “…a community in which people live, but outsiders control the politics and the economy of that community” (X, 1964). By this logic, even if African Americans were treated as equals and permitted to use the same establishments as whites, they could still be controlled and manipulated. However, if the African Americans separated themselves instead, they would be able to do as they pleased.
X then referenced the question that was on many of the audience members’ minds concerning fire arms. The audience wanted to know if they should be arming themselves for some future confrontation. X told the audience that, “…in areas where the government has proven itself either unwilling or unable to defend the lives and the property of Negroes, it’s time for Negroes to defend themselves” (X, 1964). X then told the audience that if they did get guns that it was not his aim to have them, “…get a rifle and form battalions and go out looking for white folks…”(X, 1964).
However, X then made a comment concerning the recent bombings in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four small African American girls. He told the audience that when such an atrocity is committed that it was in their rights to retaliate. With that, the meaning of the bullet in the phrase “the ballot or the bullet” had been revealed. The bullet was retaliation. X then closed the speech by using several rhetorical strategies. X appealed to the audience’s pathos by driving home his message with fiery rhetoric. He used inflammatory language that foreshadowed what he saw as an almost unavoidable conflict.
He said that, “You talk about a march on Washington in 1963, you haven’t seen anything. There’s some more going down in ‘64” (X, 1964). Then, to bring the audience near the breaking point, X made the statement that, “…if you never see me another time in your life, if I die in the morning, I’ll die saying one thing: the ballot or the bullet, the ballot or the bullet” (X, 1964). The phrase “the ballot or the bullet” had become like a mantra now, the rhetorical style of repetition being used to its full effect.
The audience would remember this phrase and the message that went with it. X even used a metaphor in the closing of his speech when he referred to the situation in the country as one, “…that will bring seeds up out of the ground with vegetation on the end of them looking like something these people never dreamed of” (X, 1964). The vegetation was the confrontation that X had been warning the audience of all night. Then, to hammer that message home, X’s final words to the audience restated his ultimatum and the mantra of his speech.
He told the audience, “In 1964, it’s the ballot or the bullet” (X, 1964) and so finished his speech. Evaluation When evaluating this speech it is important to consider four main factors: truth, ethics, aesthetics, and effect. When considering the truth of this speech, it is hard to say that X wasn’t truthful. However, X did spin the truth in a way that was beneficial to him. However, that would give his speech even more credit. He made his opinionated version of the truth seem to be the absolute truth.
Concerning ethics, X’s speech has a unique morality. It advocates retaliation and separatism. This is not really an ethical message today because our society is proud of integration, though the idea of separatism is not necessarily an unethical one. As for the message of retaliation, after the numerous injustices that the African Americans had suffered, the idea of retaliation is justified and could be argued as an ethical stance. Therefore, X’s message was an ethical one, though perhaps not so much so as defined by whites at the time.
X’s speech was one that appealed to the passions of the African American that had been held down by the weight of the white man’s false promises. He eloquently delivered this speech in a way that, although perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as Dr. King’s speech, captivated the audience and proved that it had aesthetic value. Finally, X’s speech had one major effect: the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights. Dr. King’s speech is often credited with making a push for this legislation, but X’s speech certainly contributed to the passing of this bill.
X was much more an extremist figure than Dr. King. Extremist rhetoric helps legitimize the moderates of a movement, and therefore X’s speech made the argument for integration seem that much more attractive to those in Congress. “The Ballot or the Bullet” was responsible for the passing of one of the most crucial bills in the history of African American’s battle for civil rights. X’s speech meets all the criteria for a successful speech and because of that it is remembered today. Conclusion
Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” provided the civil rights movement with definite goals and means of achieving them. X had set the tone for the future and delivered an ultimatum to those that opposed African Americans’ rights. The full effect that X would have had on the history of America will never be known due to his assassination about a year after this speech. Although we cannot know what might have been, we know this: Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” helped shape the civil rights movement and the legislation responsible for African American equality in America.
