The Ballot or the Bullet

In the speech, which was delivered on two occasions the first being April 3, 1964, at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio,[1] and the second being on April 12, 1964, at the King Solomon Baptist Church, in Detroit, Michigan,[2] Malcolm X advised African Americans to judiciously exercise their right to vote, but he cautioned that if the government continued to prevent African Americans from attaining full equality, it might be necessary for them to take up arms.

One of the goals of the Civil Rights Movement was to end disenfranchisement of African Americans, but the Nation of Islam forbade its members from participating in the political process.

Southern Democrats (sometimes called Dixiecrats, though the term is ambiguous and more properly refers to a short-lived separate political party), blocked the bill from consideration by the House of Representatives.

Malcolm X began his speech by acknowledging that he was still a Muslim, but he quickly added that he didn't intend to discuss religion or any other issues that divide African Americans.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court had outlawed segregation[14] (in cases such as Smith v. Allwright in 1944, Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents in 1950, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, and Boynton v. Virginia in 1960): Whenever you are going after something that is yours, you are within your legal rights to lay claim to it.

African Americans should be "re-educated into the science of politics" in order to understand the importance and effect of the vote they cast:[12] Don't be throwing out any ballots.

We have to come together with warmth so we can develop unity and harmony that's necessary to get this problem solved ourselves.Malcolm X addressed the issue of "rifles and shotguns", a controversy that had dogged him since his March 8 announcement that he had left the Nation of Islam.

If he waits too long ... he will be responsible for letting a condition develop in this country which will create a climate that will bring seeds up out of the ground with vegetation on the end of them looking like something these people never dreamed of.

"The Ballot or the Bullet" served several purposes at a critical point in Malcolm X's life: it was part of his effort to distance himself from the Nation of Islam, and it was intended to reach out to moderate civil rights leaders.

"The Ballot or the Bullet" also marked a notable shift in Malcolm X's rhetoric, as he presented previously undiscussed ways of looking at the relationship between blacks and whites.

In its advocacy of voting, "The Ballot or the Bullet" presented ideas opposite to those of the Nation of Islam, which forbade its members from participating in the political process.

[24] When Malcolm X spoke of "the type of Black man on the scene in America today [who] doesn't intend to turn the other cheek any longer",[9] he was addressing his followers, people who were not advocates of the non-violent approach generally favored by the Civil Rights Movement.

[26] "The Ballot or the Bullet" further indicates a shift in Malcolm X's rhetoric, as his separation from the Nation of Islam and new, unfettered public activism prompted a change in the ways he addressed his audience.

Malcolm X maintained his use of repetition as "communications of the passion that is satisfied by a single statement, but that beats through the pulses",[27] and this can be exemplified by his consistent use of the phrase "the ballot or the bullet".

In addition, Malcolm X intended his characteristic use of language and imagery to disguise his conceptions of society and history[28] in new ways to put issues into his perspective for his audience and inspire activism.

The most significant modification of Malcolm X's rhetoric that can be observed in "The Ballot or the Bullet" is the broadening of his audience, as he "emphasizes individualized judgement rather than group cohesion"[29] and allows for more analytical "flexibility restrained by a purposive focus on particular goals.