Malcom X the Ballot or the Bullet Analysis

Speech Given by Malcolm X

Though almost half a century has passed, the Civil Rights Movement remains one freshly imprinted in not only the history books of US schools but also in the minds of countless Americans. Albeit, American society has come quite a ways in the acceptance of the individual - regardless of sex, age, creed or ethnicity - prejudices of different sorts are still to be found throughout every one of the United States of America.

The Civil Rights Movement fought to overcome the racial inequalities inherent and ingrained in the minds of America's citizens and the government which they oversaw; it was one of the most important eras in the history of the United States of America and for that reason, its leaders and their words are widely studied, remembered and, frequently, revered.

One such case of this remembrance is that of Malcolm X's speech "The Ballot or the Bullet." Generally viewed as one of the top ten most significant speeches in American history, one must wonder at what factors have contributed to the speech's longevity and implied importance. For one, the speech was given during the height of this movement and by a greatly influential leader of the time. Yet the speech contains merits all its own that allow it to remain powerful long after its orator has ceased to be. The speech is filled with forcible and compelling language that would provoke some sort of feeling in anyone who reads it. Furthermore, it utilizes a broad spectrum of rhetorical devices which keep the audience captivated and interested. However, perhaps most importantly of all, stands the fact that the argument Malcolm X presents is one that could be applied universally. It is a strong, unique argument and call to arms against any government which unjustly governs its law-abiding citizens.

"The Ballot or the Bullet" was one of many speeches which addressed a top issue in the United States at the time, that of civil rights. For a period of over twenty years, black Americans had actively been pursuing their civil liberties which they felt were being denied them.

Over this prolonged period of time, several events could be highlighted for their contribution to the progress of the movement. In 1942, CORE was founded and held its first session in Chicago. In 1946, President Truman created a civil rights committee which found racial discrimination to be a national problem, and shortly thereafter, the US Supreme Court banned segregation on interstate buses. Around 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as a figurehead for the civil rights movement as president of the newly founded Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Five years later, as the first black student enrolled at the University of Mississippi, two were killed and several others were injured in ensuing riots. In 1963, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and that same year, four girls were killed in the bombing of a Birmingham Baptist Church.

These events all paved the way for Malcolm X's emergence as one of the most well-known leaders of the civil rights movement. Coming from a background that differed greatly from the other leaders of the time, Malcolm proves an interesting study.

After having originally shown academic promise, Malcolm Little dropped out of high school; this was due in part to being told by one of his favorite teachers that his aspiration to enter the field of law was "no realistic goal for a nigger."

Following his drop out, Malcolm proceeded to lead a life of petty crime until he was convicted of burglary in 1946 and sentenced to a seven-year prison term. His time in prison was well-spent, however, as Malcolm took up his education once again and was also eventually introduced to the Nation of Islam, a Muslim religious organization headed by Elijah Muhammad. Teaching against white suppression in the US, Muhammad also pushed for the Nation of Islam to one day claim a state apart from the rule of white people.

By the time he was released from prison, Malcolm was a devoted follower of Elijah Muhammad, whom he regarded as a prophet. Furthermore, he had, by then, dropped his former surname, "Little," claiming it to be a slave name, and replaced it with "X," thereby signifying the loss of his ancestral name.

After his release, Malcolm X quickly became a widely known and popular spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. Through his charismatic manner and profound belief in the teachings of Muhammad, Malcolm X was able to draw astounding numbers to the Nation of Islam. However, after uncovering that his mentor and prophet had gone against his self-same teachings of celibacy until marriage, Malcolm X soon thereafter broke ties with the Nation of Islam; in March 1964, Malcolm founded his own Islamic group, the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

It was shortly after the founding of Muslim Mosque, Inc. then, that Malcolm X delivered this speech. During the height of the civil rights movement, Malcolm was attempting here to speak out against a filibuster against civil rights legislation that was being debated on the Senate floor. Furthermore, as a Black Nationalist, Malcolm X was viewed widely as a radical extremist who would stop at nothing, not even violence, to pursue and claim the rights of black Americans. In "The Ballot or the Bullet," Malcolm was giving a call to arms to his comrades in the fight for the civil rights movement.

On an interesting note, over a century before, Frederick Douglass had published an article which was similarly entitled "The Ballot or the Bullet" in which he had stated:

"If speech alone could have abolished slavery, the work would have been done long ago. What we want is an anti-slavery government, in harmony with our anti-slavery speech, one which will give effect to our words, and translate them into acts. For this, the ballot is needed, and if this will not be heard and heeded, then the bullet. We have had cant enough, and are sick of it. When anti-slavery laws are wanted, anti-slavery men should vote for them; and when a slave is to be snatched from the hand of a kidnapper, physical force is needed, and he who gives it proves himself a more useful anti-slavery man than he who refuses to give it, and contents himself by talking of a "sword of the spirit."

It is clear that the author used a lot of rhetorical devices to achieve the desired effects from his audience. Concentrating heavily on various forms of repetition throughout the speech, several instances of anaphora, epistrophe and simple, repetition of certain words within a section of the speech are to be found; it can be conjectured quite