Malcolm X : The Ballot or the Bullet
Malcolm X : The Ballot or the Bullet On February 2nd , the Civil Rights Act of 1946 was passed, banning many forms of racial segregation and admitting African Americans the right to vote. On April 12th , just 2 months later, Malcolm X gave his encouraging “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech , reassuring African Americans that there is a conspiracy within the government to block the progress dealing with pursuit of freedom and equal opportunity , so black nationalists or should do anything and everything it take to stop segregation , in the end would be the ballot or the bullet. Malcolm X spoke to his audience as a plea for action against their white oppressors. He makes a strong statement of the civil rights movements , stating that “They keep you wrapped up in civil rights. And you spend so much time barking up the civil-rights tree , you don’t even know there’s a human rights tree on the same floor . When you expand the civil- rights struggle to the level of human rights , you can then take the case of the black man in this country before the nations in the UN.” (pg. 7 ) This excerpt from the speech suggests that there is a plot within the government and Malcolm feels that if they take the civil-rights issue further and expand it into a human rights issue , his listeners will succeed in banning segregation . He believes that the civil rights are in the hands of the government and Uncle Sam , and they keep the black nationalists under their restrictions and jurisdiction but natural rights are something everyone was born with .Also , he mentions that all those years , African Americans worked day and night and didn’t receive a penny , and now , the government is a puppeteer pulling their strings and controlling everything , African Americans still weren’t considered Americans , he argued “ Well, I am one who doesn’t believe in deluding myself. I’m not going to sit at your table and watch you eat , with nothing on my