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Frankeila Cuevas Dr. Lagos English 1430. Section 04 28 November 2017 Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft

“The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X Malcolm X (also known as Malcolm Little) was an African American leader and one of the most influential figures of race pride and black nationalism during the mid-20th century. He delivered his speech called “The Ballot or the Bullet” on April 3, 1964 at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where two thousand people, including some of his opponents, turned out to hear him speak. X directed his speech to black people in the United States of America, and to the white Democrats who pretended as if they were trying to support blacks. X furthermore, spoke on to the President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Dixiecrat. A Dixiecrat was a Democrat who is also described as racist, and as politicians who had seniority “because they come from states where Negroes can’t vote.” The author’s purpose is to motivate black people to e xercise their constitutional right to vote and also to persuade black people to practice black nationalism. “The Ballot or the Bullet” is about liberty or death. He supported his speech with arguments about how African countries fight against colonialism through nationalism, and how blacks

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have dealt with discrimination from European-Americans for years. He examined racial inequality, and he explained how the white politicians came into black communities to get their votes, and control these communities. He motivated the African Americans to take advantage of their right to vote and to put positive minded people in authority who were not segregationist. X had strong knowledge of what it is like to be discriminated against, his experiences in life gave him strong reliability. At an early age, the writer and his family moved to Lansing, Michigan. After the death of his father, the author's mother, Louise Little, was committed to an insane asylum and, eventually, the writer and his siblings were sent to foster homes. Even though X was an exceptional student, in the eighth grade he decided to drop out of school because of the discrimination he faced from his teachers. While in prison for robbery in 1946, he joined the Nation of Islam, an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with black nationalism. The writer changed his name after he became a member of the Nation of Islam (NOI) because he believed “Little” reflected the slave-name white people gave to his ancestors. After his release from prison, X wrote a 400 page autobiography, which laid the foundation for the Black Power Movement. It highlighted black pride and was made to promote black values. Many cities have renamed streets and dozens of schools have been named after him. His influences helped to change the terms used to refer to African Americans from “Negro” and “coloured” to “black” and “Afro-American.” (Mamiya. “Malcolm X.”)

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In his speech, the rhetor defined the words “ballot or bullet”. He stated, “It will be ballots, or it will be bullets. It’ll be liberty, or it will be death.” “Liberty or death” was a phrase that was used by a young patriot by the name of Patrick Henry during the Revolutionary War (Wirt. “Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry.”), however, X gave to it a more dynamic meaning to this phrase: to either be free or to die trying to. The author described ballots as “freedom” and as “voting rights.” I n his speech, to define the meaning of “ballot or bullet” he used imagery (mental images) to provoke a strong emotional impact on people, created with the help of allegories. “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.” The discriminatory injustices in the government against black people were the main factor of why X wanted positive minded individuals in power. The struggle around race was significant: Jim Crow laws were enforcing racial segregation and blacks were being tortured all through the South, therefore, the only thing X wanted to see was positive changes in favor of black people. It was 1964, a voting year. X stated, “1964 threatens to be the most explosive year America has ever witnessed. Why? It’s also a political year. It’s the year when all of the white politicians will be back in the so-called Negro community jiving you and me for some votes.... “with their false promises, building up our hopes for a letdown, with their trickery and their treachery.” He intensely pointed out how black people get easily persuaded for Democrats who came into the black communities to get their votes for a

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particular white politician, then they “get nothing in return”. He angrily criticized the audience for letting them enter their communities. X said, “The same government that you go abroad to fight for and die for is the government that is in a conspiracy to deprive you of your voting rights, deprive you of your economic opportunities, deprive you of decent housing, deprive you of decent education.” In this quote, the author summarized the situation that black people were facing and tried to create an awareness of how blacks were being treated. Throughout the speech, he compared and described “ballots or bullets” to emphasize the speech’s purpose. He also often used personal experiences and emotions to to exemplify a point that he was making. “I was in Washington, D.C., a week ago, when they were debating whether or not they should let the bill come onto the floor. And in the back of the room where the Senate meets, there’s a huge map of the United States, and on that map it shows the location of Negroes throughout the Country. And it shows that the Southern section of the country, the states that are most heavily concentrated with Negroes, are the ones that have senators and congressmen standing up filibustering and doing all other kinds of trickery to keep the Negro to being able to vote.” Specifically, X showed the audience how white men seek to control the black communities. After that, he encourage Black people to stop talking and to take action. “This is pitiful. But it’s not pitiful for us any longer... “the Negro’s is going to develop a new tactic.” Connecting these two parts, the author’s purpose is to emphasize that black people must open their

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eyes because they have the power to stop the white politicians from telling them what to do and who they must vote for. The use of anecdotes presented as evidence of racial injustices made the author’s argument more convincing. X showed passion when he tried to convince the crowd that a change was more than necessary. He used strong language, and powerful words such as, “action, problem, victim, hypocrisy, rights, shame, equality, freedom.” Each one of these words represented attacks on the political class and the deprivation of African-American rights. He repeated the word “freedom” several times to emphasize his claim. Throughout the speech, he used various rhetorical questions that suggested that something was obviously wrong and the crowd had to recognize it. “Where do we go from here?”, “what’s next?”, “how can you thank a man for giving you what is already yours?”, “where is the progress”, “when are you going to keep your promise”. The purpose of this sequence of rhetorical questions was to emphasize that the government is not treating black people fairly and to wake up black people to go and vote, stressing the importance of voting. The writer used several different tones, therefore, his temperament switched throughout the speech from beginning to end. He began in a sarcastic way to highlight that he was aware not everyone in the audience liked him. “Mr. Moderator, Brother Lomax, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies: I just can’t believe everyone in here is a friend, and I don't want to leave anybody out.” X’s emotions presented in his speech captured all of the attention not only from African Americans, but all races. He had a

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combination of high and low voices, and many pauses. “Whether you are educated or illiterate, whether you live in the boulevard or in the alley, you’re going to catch hell just like I am. We’re all in the same boat and we’re all going to catch the same hell from the same man.” X emphasized what he was trying to say by pausing and slowing down the rhythm of his words when he said, “we’re all in the same boat.” By this pause, he made an emotional appeal that attempted to connect all African Americans. X wanted black people to forget about their differences. The deliverance of his speech was very passionate and the emotions that he displayed throughout his speech helped the audience to better understand what he was trying to point out. Additionally, he elevated his voice when he said, “I’m speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.” The elevation of his voice showed the fervor, hope, and motivation for a change that he wanted to instill into African American’s minds. Furthermore, he showed a sort of anger at voting rights and racial inequality. “This is not even a government that’s based on democracy. 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.” He continued with anger when he referred to how the government had a system in the North known as “gerrymandering.” Basically, they change the district lines when black people became too heavily concentrated in one area. He ended his speech with a message of hope and

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encouragement to join black nationalist organizations by saying, “The black nationalists aren't going to wait.” The target audience was formed by both African Americans and white Americans. From the beginning of his speech, the rhetor clearly wanted to involve all African Americans regardless of their religious orientation. “I'm not here to try and change your religion. I'm not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it's time for us to submerge our differences…” Black nationalism is the the control of politicians, economics and moral fibers in the black community. “The social philosophy of black nationalism only means that we have to get together... lift the level of our community, the standard of our community to a higher level.” X tried to convince his audience that it is possible to have black nationalism inside of America. During 1964, the biggest issue for African Americans was civil rights. Blacks were facing black codes, which restricted African Americans' freedom, segregation and racism. Voting was the reason why the Civil Rights Act (which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination) was passed. Therefore, with the right to vote, civil rights became true for black people. X’s speech voiced for civil rights. Other political aspects to keep in mind about the content of the speech are the facts that President J.F Kennedy was shot a few months before, which made Lyndon B. Johnson the new president. The writer said, “and what a good president we have. If he wasn't good in Texas, he sure can't be food in Washington, D.C.” Obviously, he did not trust President Johnson or the Democrats who

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were in power because he is from a racist southern state and he described him as a “segregationist.” “The Ballot or the Bullet” signified the civil rights movement in its wholeness. The message was very clear; in order to obtain a change, blacks needed to vote. X’s speech covered every issue black people were facing during 1964, such as: segregation, voting rights, and racism. His speech opened Black people’s eyes and the change started to occur. The pride and inspiration that X delivered in his speech, made it an essential part of the movement of civil rights. X did an outstanding job motivating African Americans to fight for their civil rights by using their votes as a weapon, and to be aware of the impact their votes can have on society and the political system, and I totally agree. In 1965, after his home was firebombed, X was shot to death by Nation of Islam members while speaking at a rally of his organization in New York City. (Mamiya. “Malcolm X”).

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Works Cited

EdChange Consulting and Workshops on Multicultural Education, Diversity, Equity, Social Justice, www.edchange.org/multicultural/speeches/malcolm_x_ballot.html.

M  amiya, Lawrence A. “Malcolm X.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 Sept. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Malcolm-X.

“Patrick Henry's ‘Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death’ Speech.” Terms of Estrangement: Who Were the Sons of Liberty? : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site, www.history.org/almanack/life/politics/giveme.cfm....