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The Ballot or the Bullet
El Voto o la Bala también muestra como Malcolm X deja el simple binarismo racial para ahondar en causas económicas y políticas del segregacionismo, que lo llevará meses después a defender abiertamente el socialismo. Ya no se trata de “demonios blancos , sino de explotadores, opresores, que defienden el racismo no por simple creencia, sino para mantener un sistema de privilegios, el llamado de X es hacer todo lo que este en las manos del pueblo negro para cambiar dicha situación.
9 pages
Published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Malcolm X
123 books3,159 followersMalcolm X (born Malcolm Little), also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was an American Black Muslim minister and a spokesman for the Nation of Islam.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, he made the pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca and became a Sunni Muslim. He also founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Less than a year later, he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week.
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley wrote, "Malcolm X has been called many things: Pan-Africanist, father of Black Power, religious fanatic, closet conservative, incipient socialist, and a menace to society. The meaning of his public life — his politics and ideology — is contested in part because his entire body of work consists of a few dozen speeches and a collaborative autobiography whose veracity is challenged. Malcolm has become a sort of tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, he made the pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca and became a Sunni Muslim. He also founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Less than a year later, he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week.
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley wrote, "Malcolm X has been called many things: Pan-Africanist, father of Black Power, religious fanatic, closet conservative, incipient socialist, and a menace to society. The meaning of his public life — his politics and ideology — is contested in part because his entire body of work consists of a few dozen speeches and a collaborative autobiography whose veracity is challenged. Malcolm has become a sort of tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy.
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June 26, 2022
Here's the version we read *ahem* listened to - if you're interested.
Dad: El, it's been a week since we listened to Malcolm X deliver this speech. Do you remember anything about it?
El: Yeah, although I still don't think I got as much out of it as I did some of the other stuff.
Dad: Well, let's start with what you did get out of it, then maybe we could break it down a little more... So, what do you remember about/what did you get out of it?
El: Malcolm X a few times how America was promising things, but not following through on the entire promise.
Dad: Yeah: I noticed that too. That's a big, big theme in King's "Been to the Mountaintop" speech as well. "All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper."
El: Another big thing I got out of it is that people come to America thinking it's this Utopia, yet they get here and think: Wow. America really isn't that special.
Dad: That makes me think of this movie I saw as a kid, called "An American Tail." It's about these Russian mice who flee Russia, because there are so many cats. And they're living in poverty. And you know... America. AMERICA! It's the land of promise - and there are no cats in America. But then they get here, and guess what: cats.
El: *Eleanor laughs* Yeah. There are cats. I mean... we have two of them. It kind of reminded me of this book, "Babysitters on Board."
Dad: Go on.
El: Where... there's this one group of babysitters who seem to be super-good with the kids, but they might not be as good as the parents think they are.
Dad: What do you mean?
El: I can't really say too much more, because it might spoil the book...
Dad: You can spoil it. Go ahead.
El: Well, I'll say it like this - the parents thought one group of babysitters were great - like some people thought of America, but it wasn't as great as they thought.
Dad: I hear you. Anything else from the speech before I draw some stuff out?
El: Not that I can think of, but real quick: Our brains make the weirdest connections sometimes.
Dad: I agree.
Dad (Still): So here are some things. In this speech Brother Malcolm laid out his philosophy of Black Nationalism pretty clearly. Did you pick up on any of that?
El: I'm trying to think.
Dad: He talked about going into a white church with white Jesus and white Mary on the wall - that that church is preaching white nationalism. That anything someone in the black community can do to lift up members of the black community - that's black nationalism.
El: Yeah. I'm remembering that more now.
Dad: I mean, it was a week ago, and you listened to it once.
El: OOOOooooohhhh!!! And he was saying anytime black people would move into a white community, the white people would leave.
Dad: Right. He was talking about a lot of things there. Keeping money in the community - buying from black owned businesses - since (at the time, and some places today) white people wouldn't patronize black businesses. (I think we discussed the multiple meanings of the word patronize.)
El: Yeah - I remember doing that, too.
Dad: He was saying how - kindof taking digs at integration - if black people moved into white communities, the white people would move out - leaving the black people right back where they started: in a black community. So, his point was, black people have to look out for themselves.
Dad: Something else - he and Dr. King didn't always see eye-to-eye. Was Malcolm X in favor of integration?
El: No.
Dad: Was King?
El: Yes.
Dad: Right. But one thing he drew out in this speech was the necessity of addressing Civil Rights on multiple fronts. Can you tell me what that means? Or what you think it means?
El: That means different people doing different things to try to get Civil Rights, and end racism.
Dad: Right.
El: Like, integration might not be enough on its own, and separation might not be enough on its own - but getting Civil Rights is the goal they're both working towards.
Dad: Yeah. Yeah. And here Malcom is very clear on that - and he hasn't always been. And sure, he still takes some digs at the other side, "You all do too much singing, and not enough swinging." Or where he says about the sit-ins, "Think about a person sitting. An old man can sit." BUT he's also saying they're united in their fight for Civil Rights. He says the same time over and over about religion - that (the night of the speech, and when it comes to Civil Rights) they have to "keep God in the closet." What did he mean by that?
El: I can't remember.
Dad: What religion is he?
El: Muslim.
Dad: What religion is King?
El: Christian.
Dad: Where was he giving this speech?
El: Detroit. Because I remember he mentioned the Detroit place.
Dad: General Motors, right? But where - where in Detroit was he giving the speech? Maybe I never said.
El: I honestly do not remember... I know he was giving it in a church.
Dad: Lol.
El: I guess I didn't really think it was that big of a deal.
Dad: Lol again. You got it right.
El: What?
Dad: A church.
El: OOOOHhhhhhhh... I thought you wanted me to come up with the name of the church.
Dad: I just looked it up: Cory Methodist Church. ...So what religion is that?
El: Christian.
Dad: Yes. Do Christians usually bring Muslim Clerics or Imams or Preachers into their church to give the message?
El: No.
Dad: So what did he mean, when he said "put God in the closet?" Did he stop believing in God?
El: No.
Dad: So what did he mean?
El: He meant that, "We might not agree about God, but we both agree that we want justice for all."
Dad: Exactly. This gets back to the point you made about addressing Civil Rights on multiple fronts. It can't just be Christians. It can't just be Muslims. On this issue, they all want the same thing. So - they should work together.
Dad: You know, there's a line in the song we listened to last week, "Mississippi Goddam" where Nina Simone says, "You don't have to live by me, just give me my equality." I think that's pretty similar to Malcolm's stance.
El: Yeah.
Dad: Hey, I know it's been over a week, and I know you just said, "I don't think this is our best review... I think we waited too long, and it was tough since the audio was a bit fuzzy and there were people walking around in the background..." but I'm glad that you listened to the whole thing and talked over some of it with me. Maybe we should have done it earlier, but I'm glad we discussed it together.
El: Me too. It definitely would have been a lot harder if I'd watched it on my own.
Dad: Last couple questions: You just watched Selma with your youth group. A: What did you think? And B: Think about the title of this speech: The Ballot or the Bullet. ...Where's the overlap. Those are my last questions.
El: A: I thought the movie was good. It was a little different than I expected. I thought the tests they gave were pretty crazy... I mean, who can name all 67 county judges...? And B: They both mentioned voting. Like, in Selma - it's all about voting rights... Voting takes ballots. The speech is called, "The Ballot or the Bullet."
Dad: Right. So, it's about voting rights, too. And he's invoking one of America's founding fathers - who he mentions several times in his speech: Patrick Henry - who famously said, "Give me liberty, or give me death." Ballot or bullet. And man, white people of the day love some Patrick Henry. (And maybe today, too.)
Dad: El, it's been a week since we listened to Malcolm X deliver this speech. Do you remember anything about it?
El: Yeah, although I still don't think I got as much out of it as I did some of the other stuff.
Dad: Well, let's start with what you did get out of it, then maybe we could break it down a little more... So, what do you remember about/what did you get out of it?
El: Malcolm X a few times how America was promising things, but not following through on the entire promise.
Dad: Yeah: I noticed that too. That's a big, big theme in King's "Been to the Mountaintop" speech as well. "All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper."
El: Another big thing I got out of it is that people come to America thinking it's this Utopia, yet they get here and think: Wow. America really isn't that special.
Dad: That makes me think of this movie I saw as a kid, called "An American Tail." It's about these Russian mice who flee Russia, because there are so many cats. And they're living in poverty. And you know... America. AMERICA! It's the land of promise - and there are no cats in America. But then they get here, and guess what: cats.
El: *Eleanor laughs* Yeah. There are cats. I mean... we have two of them. It kind of reminded me of this book, "Babysitters on Board."
Dad: Go on.
El: Where... there's this one group of babysitters who seem to be super-good with the kids, but they might not be as good as the parents think they are.
Dad: What do you mean?
El: I can't really say too much more, because it might spoil the book...
Dad: You can spoil it. Go ahead.
El: Well, I'll say it like this - the parents thought one group of babysitters were great - like some people thought of America, but it wasn't as great as they thought.
Dad: I hear you. Anything else from the speech before I draw some stuff out?
El: Not that I can think of, but real quick: Our brains make the weirdest connections sometimes.
Dad: I agree.
Dad (Still): So here are some things. In this speech Brother Malcolm laid out his philosophy of Black Nationalism pretty clearly. Did you pick up on any of that?
El: I'm trying to think.
Dad: He talked about going into a white church with white Jesus and white Mary on the wall - that that church is preaching white nationalism. That anything someone in the black community can do to lift up members of the black community - that's black nationalism.
El: Yeah. I'm remembering that more now.
Dad: I mean, it was a week ago, and you listened to it once.
El: OOOOooooohhhh!!! And he was saying anytime black people would move into a white community, the white people would leave.
Dad: Right. He was talking about a lot of things there. Keeping money in the community - buying from black owned businesses - since (at the time, and some places today) white people wouldn't patronize black businesses. (I think we discussed the multiple meanings of the word patronize.)
El: Yeah - I remember doing that, too.
Dad: He was saying how - kindof taking digs at integration - if black people moved into white communities, the white people would move out - leaving the black people right back where they started: in a black community. So, his point was, black people have to look out for themselves.
Dad: Something else - he and Dr. King didn't always see eye-to-eye. Was Malcolm X in favor of integration?
El: No.
Dad: Was King?
El: Yes.
Dad: Right. But one thing he drew out in this speech was the necessity of addressing Civil Rights on multiple fronts. Can you tell me what that means? Or what you think it means?
El: That means different people doing different things to try to get Civil Rights, and end racism.
Dad: Right.
El: Like, integration might not be enough on its own, and separation might not be enough on its own - but getting Civil Rights is the goal they're both working towards.
Dad: Yeah. Yeah. And here Malcom is very clear on that - and he hasn't always been. And sure, he still takes some digs at the other side, "You all do too much singing, and not enough swinging." Or where he says about the sit-ins, "Think about a person sitting. An old man can sit." BUT he's also saying they're united in their fight for Civil Rights. He says the same time over and over about religion - that (the night of the speech, and when it comes to Civil Rights) they have to "keep God in the closet." What did he mean by that?
El: I can't remember.
Dad: What religion is he?
El: Muslim.
Dad: What religion is King?
El: Christian.
Dad: Where was he giving this speech?
El: Detroit. Because I remember he mentioned the Detroit place.
Dad: General Motors, right? But where - where in Detroit was he giving the speech? Maybe I never said.
El: I honestly do not remember... I know he was giving it in a church.
Dad: Lol.
El: I guess I didn't really think it was that big of a deal.
Dad: Lol again. You got it right.
El: What?
Dad: A church.
El: OOOOHhhhhhhh... I thought you wanted me to come up with the name of the church.
Dad: I just looked it up: Cory Methodist Church. ...So what religion is that?
El: Christian.
Dad: Yes. Do Christians usually bring Muslim Clerics or Imams or Preachers into their church to give the message?
El: No.
Dad: So what did he mean, when he said "put God in the closet?" Did he stop believing in God?
El: No.
Dad: So what did he mean?
El: He meant that, "We might not agree about God, but we both agree that we want justice for all."
Dad: Exactly. This gets back to the point you made about addressing Civil Rights on multiple fronts. It can't just be Christians. It can't just be Muslims. On this issue, they all want the same thing. So - they should work together.
Dad: You know, there's a line in the song we listened to last week, "Mississippi Goddam" where Nina Simone says, "You don't have to live by me, just give me my equality." I think that's pretty similar to Malcolm's stance.
El: Yeah.
Dad: Hey, I know it's been over a week, and I know you just said, "I don't think this is our best review... I think we waited too long, and it was tough since the audio was a bit fuzzy and there were people walking around in the background..." but I'm glad that you listened to the whole thing and talked over some of it with me. Maybe we should have done it earlier, but I'm glad we discussed it together.
El: Me too. It definitely would have been a lot harder if I'd watched it on my own.
Dad: Last couple questions: You just watched Selma with your youth group. A: What did you think? And B: Think about the title of this speech: The Ballot or the Bullet. ...Where's the overlap. Those are my last questions.
El: A: I thought the movie was good. It was a little different than I expected. I thought the tests they gave were pretty crazy... I mean, who can name all 67 county judges...? And B: They both mentioned voting. Like, in Selma - it's all about voting rights... Voting takes ballots. The speech is called, "The Ballot or the Bullet."
Dad: Right. So, it's about voting rights, too. And he's invoking one of America's founding fathers - who he mentions several times in his speech: Patrick Henry - who famously said, "Give me liberty, or give me death." Ballot or bullet. And man, white people of the day love some Patrick Henry. (And maybe today, too.)
Read
May 31, 2020*just using this to save some quotes but read this, especially fellow white people*
"Any time you demonstrate against segregation and a man has the audacity to put a police dog on you, kill that dog, kill him, I'm telling you, kill that dog. I say it, if they put me in jail tomorrow, kill that dog. Then you'll put a stop to it. Now, if these white people in here don't want to see that kind of action, get down and tell the mayor to tell the police department to pull the dogs in. That's all you have to do. If you don't do it, someone else will."
"If you don't take an uncompromising stand, I don't mean go out and get violent; but at the same time you should never be nonviolent unless you run into some nonviolence. I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go insane, and I'm not responsible for what I do."
"Uncle Sam's hands are dripping with blood, dripping with the blood of the black man in this country. He's the earth's number-one hypocrite. He has the audacity -- yes, he has -- imagine him posing as the leader of the free world. The free world! And you over here singing 'We Shall Overcome.'"
"Don't change the white man's mind -- you can't change his mind, and that whole thing about appealing to the moral conscience of America -- America's conscience is bankrupt. She lost all conscience a long time ago. Uncle Sam has no conscience."
"They don't know what morals are. They don't try and eliminate an evil because it's evil, or because it's illegal, or because it's immoral; they eliminate it only when it threatens their existence. So you're wasting your time appealing to the moral conscience of a bankrupt man like Uncle Sam."
"It'll be the ballot or the bullet. It'll be liberty or it'll be death."
"The white man controls his own school, his own bank, his own economy, his own politics, his own everything, his own community; but he also controls yours. When you're under someone else's control, you're segregated."
"Article number two of the constitutional amendments provides you and me the right to own a rifle or a shotgun. It is constitutionally legal to own a shotgun or a rifle. This doesn't mean you're going to get a rifle and form battalions and go out looking for white folks, although you'd be within your rights -- I mean, you'd be justified; but that would be illegal and we don't do anything illegal. If the white man doesn't want the black man buying rifles and shotguns, then let the government do its job."
"If he's not going to do his job in running the government and providing you and me with the protection that our taxes are supposed to be for, since he spends all those billions for his defense budget, he certainly can't begrudge you and me spending $12 or $15 for a single-shot, or double-action."
"He wanted to send troops down to Cuba and make them have what he calls free elections -- this old cracker who doesn't have free elections in his own country."
"If he waits too long, brothers and sisters, 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."
"Any time you demonstrate against segregation and a man has the audacity to put a police dog on you, kill that dog, kill him, I'm telling you, kill that dog. I say it, if they put me in jail tomorrow, kill that dog. Then you'll put a stop to it. Now, if these white people in here don't want to see that kind of action, get down and tell the mayor to tell the police department to pull the dogs in. That's all you have to do. If you don't do it, someone else will."
"If you don't take an uncompromising stand, I don't mean go out and get violent; but at the same time you should never be nonviolent unless you run into some nonviolence. I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go insane, and I'm not responsible for what I do."
"Uncle Sam's hands are dripping with blood, dripping with the blood of the black man in this country. He's the earth's number-one hypocrite. He has the audacity -- yes, he has -- imagine him posing as the leader of the free world. The free world! And you over here singing 'We Shall Overcome.'"
"Don't change the white man's mind -- you can't change his mind, and that whole thing about appealing to the moral conscience of America -- America's conscience is bankrupt. She lost all conscience a long time ago. Uncle Sam has no conscience."
"They don't know what morals are. They don't try and eliminate an evil because it's evil, or because it's illegal, or because it's immoral; they eliminate it only when it threatens their existence. So you're wasting your time appealing to the moral conscience of a bankrupt man like Uncle Sam."
"It'll be the ballot or the bullet. It'll be liberty or it'll be death."
"The white man controls his own school, his own bank, his own economy, his own politics, his own everything, his own community; but he also controls yours. When you're under someone else's control, you're segregated."
"Article number two of the constitutional amendments provides you and me the right to own a rifle or a shotgun. It is constitutionally legal to own a shotgun or a rifle. This doesn't mean you're going to get a rifle and form battalions and go out looking for white folks, although you'd be within your rights -- I mean, you'd be justified; but that would be illegal and we don't do anything illegal. If the white man doesn't want the black man buying rifles and shotguns, then let the government do its job."
"If he's not going to do his job in running the government and providing you and me with the protection that our taxes are supposed to be for, since he spends all those billions for his defense budget, he certainly can't begrudge you and me spending $12 or $15 for a single-shot, or double-action."
"He wanted to send troops down to Cuba and make them have what he calls free elections -- this old cracker who doesn't have free elections in his own country."
"If he waits too long, brothers and sisters, 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."
January 9, 2024
czytalam i analizowalam na studia i jak po pierwszym przeczytaniu nie zrobilo na mnie wrażenia,tak juz przy analizowaniu zauwazylam niuanse
June 1, 2020
"All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man."
February 19, 2025
Just preserving some quotes that stood out to me:
"If you black you were born in jail, in the North as well as the South. Stop talking about the South. As long as you south of the Canadian border, you South."
"When we open our eyes today and look around America, we see America not through the eyes of
someone who has enjoyed the fruits of Americanism. We see America through the eyes of someone
who has been the victim of Americanism. We don't see any American dream. We've experienced only the American nightmare. We haven't benefited from America's democracy. We've only suffered from America's hypocrisy. And the generation that's coming up now can see it. And are not afraid to say it. If you go to jail, so what? If you're black, you were born in jail."
"...the same senators that were involved in the filibuster were from the states where there were the most Negroes. Why were they filibustering the civil rights legislation? Because the civil rights legislation is supposed to guarantee boarding rights to Negroes from those states. And those senators from those states know that if the Negroes in those states can vote, those senators are down the drain."
"This is why I say it's the ballot or the bullet. It's liberty or it's death. It's freedom for everybody or
freedom for nobody."
Some of my own thoughts: I read his back to back with Letter from Birmingham Jail. The tonal and thematic elements changed so abruptly, I got whiplash. Malcolm X's speech almost reads like a passive aggressive response to The Letter From Birmingham. Historically speaking, Malcolm X's approach to revolution makes sense not to the degree of achieving legal freedom, but defending the real-life implementation of that freedom (particularly integration). But also, what do I know. I am probably just talking out of my nose.
I am a white American woman who grew up in the 21st-century Southeast; my lens is relevant to the text in that I had no choice but to confront both Malcolm X's argument, and my own convictions. We find ourselves in the middle of a revolution today, complete with a government that does not care for its people, and a political climate reaching a boiling point. As I read the author's words, "This government has failed us. The senators who are filibustering concerning your and my rights, that's the government. Don't say it's southern senators, this is the government," I got chills. Parties and in-fighting are a distraction. Neo political ideologies are opiates, and the epidemic of identity politics is the lullaby rocking the American people to sleep while its government crumbles around the, taking on the form of that brutal and hideous monster, authoritarianism. It's the ballot or the bullet.
"If you black you were born in jail, in the North as well as the South. Stop talking about the South. As long as you south of the Canadian border, you South."
"When we open our eyes today and look around America, we see America not through the eyes of
someone who has enjoyed the fruits of Americanism. We see America through the eyes of someone
who has been the victim of Americanism. We don't see any American dream. We've experienced only the American nightmare. We haven't benefited from America's democracy. We've only suffered from America's hypocrisy. And the generation that's coming up now can see it. And are not afraid to say it. If you go to jail, so what? If you're black, you were born in jail."
"...the same senators that were involved in the filibuster were from the states where there were the most Negroes. Why were they filibustering the civil rights legislation? Because the civil rights legislation is supposed to guarantee boarding rights to Negroes from those states. And those senators from those states know that if the Negroes in those states can vote, those senators are down the drain."
"This is why I say it's the ballot or the bullet. It's liberty or it's death. It's freedom for everybody or
freedom for nobody."
Some of my own thoughts: I read his back to back with Letter from Birmingham Jail. The tonal and thematic elements changed so abruptly, I got whiplash. Malcolm X's speech almost reads like a passive aggressive response to The Letter From Birmingham. Historically speaking, Malcolm X's approach to revolution makes sense not to the degree of achieving legal freedom, but defending the real-life implementation of that freedom (particularly integration). But also, what do I know. I am probably just talking out of my nose.
I am a white American woman who grew up in the 21st-century Southeast; my lens is relevant to the text in that I had no choice but to confront both Malcolm X's argument, and my own convictions. We find ourselves in the middle of a revolution today, complete with a government that does not care for its people, and a political climate reaching a boiling point. As I read the author's words, "This government has failed us. The senators who are filibustering concerning your and my rights, that's the government. Don't say it's southern senators, this is the government," I got chills. Parties and in-fighting are a distraction. Neo political ideologies are opiates, and the epidemic of identity politics is the lullaby rocking the American people to sleep while its government crumbles around the, taking on the form of that brutal and hideous monster, authoritarianism. It's the ballot or the bullet.
August 3, 2016
I read this speech for a paper in my African American history class. I had heard parts of it before but had never read/heard the whole thing. I enjoyed reading it if only to see how different the system of achieving Civil Rights was from Martin Luther King Jr's since they were both leaders in the movement during the same era.
Read
February 7, 2023King argues for equality through integration and cooperating, coexisting parties. Malcom X argues for equality through forming separate spheres to allow the parties to thrive independently and separate from each other. Both achieve equality; the question is, what kind of world do you want to create here?
April 19, 2022
everyone should read this. everyone.
November 30, 2025
"If you go to jail, so what. If you're black, you were born in jail."
November 30, 2021
Real rating 8.6/10
Excellent speech, with some slight flaws. The biggest of which is that this particular speech would get "cancelled" in the modern era. Malcolm does use some racist language that would have been acceptable in his time. However, in the contemporary era, terms such as Chinaman, yellow people and rice eaters (which is just straight-up racist in modern times) are very odd terms to use when painting a picture that Asians and African-Americans should unite together. Also, there are some slight factual errors such as how he uses the term 800 million Chinese multiple times, even though China would not reach that population milestone until X has been dead for 5 years.
But aside from little squabbles like that the speech is great, the analysis is excellent and it is shocking to see him discussing things back then that are only now making their way into the mainstream. This is also the speech that brought the phrase "by any means necessary" to the forefront. However, the line is often used out of context as in this speech Malcolm says violence is unneeded if there is no violence brought against you. One is to know when one has justice and the moral right on one's side and it is that part of the speech I feel most never get to and I implore others to read and see the depth in which he goes to highlight the plight of a people trapped in a system not designed to benefit them.
Excellent speech, with some slight flaws. The biggest of which is that this particular speech would get "cancelled" in the modern era. Malcolm does use some racist language that would have been acceptable in his time. However, in the contemporary era, terms such as Chinaman, yellow people and rice eaters (which is just straight-up racist in modern times) are very odd terms to use when painting a picture that Asians and African-Americans should unite together. Also, there are some slight factual errors such as how he uses the term 800 million Chinese multiple times, even though China would not reach that population milestone until X has been dead for 5 years.
But aside from little squabbles like that the speech is great, the analysis is excellent and it is shocking to see him discussing things back then that are only now making their way into the mainstream. This is also the speech that brought the phrase "by any means necessary" to the forefront. However, the line is often used out of context as in this speech Malcolm says violence is unneeded if there is no violence brought against you. One is to know when one has justice and the moral right on one's side and it is that part of the speech I feel most never get to and I implore others to read and see the depth in which he goes to highlight the plight of a people trapped in a system not designed to benefit them.
May 31, 2020
Two quotes sums this up for me perfectly:
“it is the government itself, the government of America, that is responsible for the oppression and exploitation and degradation of black people in this country. And you should drop it in their lap. This government has failed the Negro. This so-called democracy has failed the Negro. And all these white liberals have definitely failed the Negro.”
“Black people are fed up with the dillydallying, pussyfooting, compromising approach that we've been using toward getting our freedom. We want freedom now, but we're not going to get it saying "We Shall Overcome." We've got to fight until we overcome.”
It’s 2020 and this still applies, absolutely crazy.
“it is the government itself, the government of America, that is responsible for the oppression and exploitation and degradation of black people in this country. And you should drop it in their lap. This government has failed the Negro. This so-called democracy has failed the Negro. And all these white liberals have definitely failed the Negro.”
“Black people are fed up with the dillydallying, pussyfooting, compromising approach that we've been using toward getting our freedom. We want freedom now, but we're not going to get it saying "We Shall Overcome." We've got to fight until we overcome.”
It’s 2020 and this still applies, absolutely crazy.
October 4, 2023
The way Malcom X speaks is riveting and honestly beautiful. He was so intelligent, and the way he strings his words together in his speeches; he uses rhyme and rhythm, even to come up with beautiful catchphrases. He was witty and hilarious while also being completely and utterly serious and well-educated on the topics he speaks on. He was a very convincing speaker, and his points are made effortlessly. Beautiful speech.
July 13, 2023
Excellent comparison to Martin Luther King’s “I Have Dream Speech”. Two people with the same goal who go about it very differently. Best In class discussion we had all year comparing these two speeches. One views blacks and whites as brothers and sisters, while the other sees blacks and whites as enemies that should be segregated.
January 19, 2021
Malcolm succeeds in delivering an empowering speech. Speeches are meant to raise attention to issues and to create feelings of strength and solidarity. If you like this speech, check out Frantz Fanon’s works for some philosophy on decolonization
May 27, 2023
Strikingly poignant and straightforward. Malcolm X seldom over speaks, and cunningly delivers a response to a terrifying time. Under the constraints and fears of social cementation, he is able to deliver a message that will resonate for generations to come.
October 9, 2024
A fiery, angry speech. A reaction against nonviolent protest, a reaction against a broken system that seemingly will never solve itself.
All the more relevant today as many, regardless of color and creed, choose violence with the lack of other options.
All the more relevant today as many, regardless of color and creed, choose violence with the lack of other options.
July 24, 2012
'It's got to be the ballot or the bullet.'
June 5, 2020
This was a great read. Some parts were still applicable to today's times and I'd recommend everyone to read it.
Read
July 13, 2020never heard of the term "Dixiecrat" before
November 8, 2020
How can you thank a man for giving you what's already yours?
December 11, 2022
"They'll lynch in Texas as quick as they'll lynch you in Mississippi. Only in Texas they lynch you with a Texas accent, in Mississippi they lynch you with a Mississippi accent."
November 14, 2024
“I don’t see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.”
May 18, 2021
I read this and MLK's "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" back-to-back today, and I'll be reviewing them together as well.
Malcolm's work I'm reviewing is a speech instead of a letter, like MLK's work, so it is different in cadence and tone; it's also very different in audience (MLK's was to fellow (white) christian clergy, whereas this was in the presence of christian clergy but intended for his black audience. The other interesting contrast is that MLK was in jail for passively resisting the state (as a result of his Christian conviction), whereas Malcolm was radicalized and converted in prison.
Malcolm's speech also came at an important time in his life, shortly before his Hajj which would show him how well muslims of different races could get along together. The main issues he missed were that:
1) Muslims have historically been very intolerant toward non-believers and even other types of muslims (I wouldn't call the jizya "tolerance")
2) Mohammed was white and owned black slaves, so Islam is actually more of a white man's religion, and cares less about equality than Christianity (especially for women)
Malcolm's main split with MLK is his approach. Though not condoning offensive violence, he takes the common western muslim approach of having no issue with fighting back and even making fun of turning the other cheek. He insults the sit-ins that MLK had been doing. Malcolm has little ethos to speak of; he is not humble, is not wise [at least at this point], and only shows how well-read he is by referencing current events (which isn't nearly as effective as pointing to great intellectual traditions like MLK does).
His actual politics are an interesting mixture of claiming institutionalized racism, but since everything is the white man's fault, black people cannot rely on them to fix anything, and thus they must be self-reliant and pick themselves up. Malcolm is bitter, and understandably so, but this at times clouds his judgement exceptionally and in my mind prevents him from being a great thinker. To me one of the worst parts of the speech was when he spits on the graves of hundreds of thousands of union soldiers who fought to end slavery, saying:
"If you black you were born in jail, in the North as well as the South. Stop talking about the South. As long as you south of the Canadian border, you South."
He has some clever passages, but that was not one of them. However, this is all part of his larger policy of extreme skepticism toward any American political parties, especially the democrats who are supposedly on his side. He is very mistrusting of them and of any whites who attempt to help out blacks. Frankly, between that and his black-self-sufficiency arguments, I'm not sure how he's popular with American leftists nowadays... other than his anger, his honesty, and his insults towards white people, which feature regularly in his speeches.
Perhaps it is a false dichotomy between MLK and Malcolm X, but I'll pick the humble, warm, martyr-minded MLK over the insulting, combative, bitter Malcolm any day. And I think the world would be better if we would follow the less flashy but more substantive and sacrificially-Christian MLK instead of the edgy and whitewashed-muslim Malcolm.
P.S. This documentary was a good, humanizing find: https://youtu.be/mRtYluUXZ8Q
Malcolm's work I'm reviewing is a speech instead of a letter, like MLK's work, so it is different in cadence and tone; it's also very different in audience (MLK's was to fellow (white) christian clergy, whereas this was in the presence of christian clergy but intended for his black audience. The other interesting contrast is that MLK was in jail for passively resisting the state (as a result of his Christian conviction), whereas Malcolm was radicalized and converted in prison.
Malcolm's speech also came at an important time in his life, shortly before his Hajj which would show him how well muslims of different races could get along together. The main issues he missed were that:
1) Muslims have historically been very intolerant toward non-believers and even other types of muslims (I wouldn't call the jizya "tolerance")
2) Mohammed was white and owned black slaves, so Islam is actually more of a white man's religion, and cares less about equality than Christianity (especially for women)
Malcolm's main split with MLK is his approach. Though not condoning offensive violence, he takes the common western muslim approach of having no issue with fighting back and even making fun of turning the other cheek. He insults the sit-ins that MLK had been doing. Malcolm has little ethos to speak of; he is not humble, is not wise [at least at this point], and only shows how well-read he is by referencing current events (which isn't nearly as effective as pointing to great intellectual traditions like MLK does).
His actual politics are an interesting mixture of claiming institutionalized racism, but since everything is the white man's fault, black people cannot rely on them to fix anything, and thus they must be self-reliant and pick themselves up. Malcolm is bitter, and understandably so, but this at times clouds his judgement exceptionally and in my mind prevents him from being a great thinker. To me one of the worst parts of the speech was when he spits on the graves of hundreds of thousands of union soldiers who fought to end slavery, saying:
"If you black you were born in jail, in the North as well as the South. Stop talking about the South. As long as you south of the Canadian border, you South."
He has some clever passages, but that was not one of them. However, this is all part of his larger policy of extreme skepticism toward any American political parties, especially the democrats who are supposedly on his side. He is very mistrusting of them and of any whites who attempt to help out blacks. Frankly, between that and his black-self-sufficiency arguments, I'm not sure how he's popular with American leftists nowadays... other than his anger, his honesty, and his insults towards white people, which feature regularly in his speeches.
Perhaps it is a false dichotomy between MLK and Malcolm X, but I'll pick the humble, warm, martyr-minded MLK over the insulting, combative, bitter Malcolm any day. And I think the world would be better if we would follow the less flashy but more substantive and sacrificially-Christian MLK instead of the edgy and whitewashed-muslim Malcolm.
P.S. This documentary was a good, humanizing find: https://youtu.be/mRtYluUXZ8Q
August 5, 2025
Jak to się znakomicie łączy z Natepnym Razem Pożar Baldwina. Malcolm jest tam wspominany i mimo że raczej bliżej mi do Baldwinowskiej myśli politycznej to zdecydowanie muszę przeczytać więcej Malcolma. O ile opisana idea rewolucji i natychmiastowej reakcji na niezmieniającą się politykę USA jest zasadna tak w tej przemowie autor nie wspomina o kapitalizmie, wręcz momentami zachęcając do grania tymi kartami. Wiadomo, że jest to ledwie wierzchołek góry lodowej natomiast problem ucisku czarnej społeczności nie został w nim rozwiązany. Malcolm opisuje pojedyncze rzeczy, które można zrobić w celu zachwiania białej supremacji, nie dochodzi jednak do sedna. Natomiast analizując przemowę w połączeniu np z Wyklętym Ludem Ziemi Fanona widać pewne zbieżności. Główne clue przemowy jest takie, że żadna udana rewolucja nie była bezkrwawa, a siła ludu jest potężniejsza i ma szansę na powodzenie, gdy ten bedzie odpowiednio zdeterminizowany. Czytanie przemowy w XXI wieku uświadamia, że nic się nie wydarzyło. Nie tylko w kontekście niespełnionych obietnic białych senatorów, którzy przypominają sobie o czarnych obywatelach jedynie na chwilkę przed wyborami, ale też w kontekście obecnych ludobojstw na niebiałej ludności. Dochodzi zatem do wniosku, że jeśli nie wdroży się natychmiastowo polityki ballot or bullet będziemy oglądać rzeź na ludziach do samego końca. Decyzja o akceptacji takiej rzeczywistości należy do ludu.
May 1, 2025
Tout petit livre avec un concept super bien exécuter, mettre un discour de Malcom X qui dénonce la classe politique suivis par un discour donné par Jonh F Kennedy un an vant donne vraiment une perspective intéréssante. J’ai adoré aussi qu’il y ai le text en anglais original ET une traduction en français.
« No, I'm not an American. I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I'm not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver - no, not I. 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. »
« No, I'm not an American. I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I'm not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver - no, not I. 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. »
February 16, 2024
Malcolm X was an eloquent, impassioned speaker. This speech is no exception. It was delivered on the topic of Black nationalism before the crucial 1964 election. I was lucky enough to listen to a recording of Malcolm X delivering this speech. It is a powerful listening experience and sadly continues to be very relevant.
January 18, 2024
If you haven't ever read this do yourself a favor and don't read it, listen to it. Hear his voice because his emotional inflection gives so much depth. And if you've already read this then do it again by listening cause it gives so much more context.
February 3, 2024
Certain aspects of this speech haven’t necessarily aged well, but other aspects ring just as true today as they did when the speech was made 60 years ago.
Definitely worth a listen to hear the passionate way Malcolm X spoke.
Definitely worth a listen to hear the passionate way Malcolm X spoke.
August 17, 2025
I 🖤 Malcolm X. Me encanta lo directo que es en sus discursos para que las personas se den cuenta de lo urgente que es acabar con la maquinaria estadounidense de opresión racial utilizando todos los medios que sean necesarios.
June 2, 2020
Read this speech here: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural...
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