...Reading the Nonviolent excerpts, the two chosen to write about are Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. It seems that the two men only agreed upon one idea, which is, bettering the life for African Americans in America, alternatively, having two different views on how to achieve this goal. Malcolm X was not a radical. However, he voiced different views during the Civil Rights Movements. It is believed by a majority of educated African Americans that if Malcolm was a radical so was every white American that murdered African Americans before as well as through the duration of the Civil Rights Movement. Moreover, Malcolm X was not violent. He believed in self-defense. Self-defense only when an act of crime was being done against an individual,...
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...Language and Composition 24 February 2015 Malcolm X: Building Up the Fire of the Civil Rights Movement “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it” (Malcolm X). This quote from one of Malcolm X’s speeches embodies who he was as a person and what he valued. As a civil rights activist, Malcolm learned not to let the hate of others prevent him from living out his life the way he wanted. While others pushed a pacifist movement, Malcolm understood that there would be no peaceful way to resolve the civil rights issues. Malcolm was prepared to fight for his own rights, and even put his own life at risk. The impact that he had on the Civil rights movement was rivaled only by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and all of his ideas were culminated into one speech, called The Ballot or the Bullet. Malcolm X’s speech comes during April of 1963, a critical time during the American Civil rights movement, and Malcolm’s ability to target and rile up the emotions of his African-American audience is what makes his speech so powerful. During the 1960’s, America was a hostile environment for an ambitious African-American citizen. Although executive leaders, such as John F. Kennedy, were promising that they had been doing as much as possible to improve civil rights, not enough actual progress had been made to improve the lives of African-Americans. In 1963 alone, a year in which the civil rights movement was supposed to take a huge step...
Words: 2619 - Pages: 11
...Rhetorical Analysis: The Ballot or the Bullet The two great civil rights leaders of the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, held diametrically opposed political philosophies. King was a pacifist, in the tradition of Gandhi before him; Malcolm X was a radical, an advocate of violence. Both, however, shared a common goal—real freedom for African Americans. Malcolm X’s speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” was a direct response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech of a month before. Malcolm X, once associated with the Black Panthers, and a member of the Black Muslim movement, wrote “The Ballot or the Bullet” not only as a response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s pacifism, but because he was frustrated with white dilly-dallying in reaching a decision on black rights in America. Political debate had reached an impasse, and Malcolm wanted to make it clear that if the Congress couldn’t come to a decision, black Americans would take matters into their own hands. He did not share Martin’s pacifist inclinations, and he promised a violent seizure of civil rights. An examination of Malcolm X’s speech will reveal that it is one of the most powerful speeches ever written. It is, in every respect, the equal of Martin’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It is eloquent, it is memorable, and it is poetic. Its tone, unlike Martin’s conciliatory speech, is militant. He appeals to the emotions of his young audience, rousing them to anger; and in the same breath, strikes...
Words: 1064 - Pages: 5
...Malcolm X A Controversial Leader Iris Robinson Central Michigan University PSC 785 Dr. Robert Boggs Abstract This paper is going analyze the leadership traits, behavior and power that made Malcolm X the type of leader that he was. Malcolm X was considered a great leader to some people because of what he believed in. Malcolm X was a very controversial leader because of his views on different subject. This paper will show how Malcolm X went from follower to a leader. Malcolm X possess a lot of good trait that people look for in good leader such as motivator, responsible, assertive, self-confidence, firm and task orientate and most of all honesty. Leadership can be defined as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Leadership is also a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. There are certain trait that a good leader must possessed such as excellent communication skills, be direct, be fair, capable and kind yet firm. Good leader also possess certain personal qualities. A good leader needs to have an exemplary character. A good leader should be enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. A good leader should be confident. A leader also needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. Good leaders...
Words: 4864 - Pages: 20
...Throughout his time as a civil rights activist, he repeatedly displayed perseverance and impressive mental capabilities. An example of perseverance, according to Biography.com, would be when he was jailed for six years. Instead of reacting with retribution, he took the time to further educate himself to help his activism. One would imagine that the strengthening of your education, and sticking out the jail time without complaint is an example of perseverance, due in part to his calm reaction to the situation. An example of his mental wizardry is his rallying of the Nation of Islam from 400 members to 40,000 members. This would take a great leader, with powerful messages. These messages would be important in the time period he lived in, the Civil Rights Era, as society’s discrimination of African-Americans was under scrutiny and protest. This allowed Malcolm X to become a hero of the Civil Rights Movement. While considered extremely controversial to some, due to his teachings and beliefs, Malcolm X displayed many heroic traits that connect back to the Elizabethan Era Shakespeare...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...Malcolm X, a great leader in the civil rights movement was both righteous yet fierce when demanding change in the world. Just as interesting is the biography originally published in 1993, “Malcolm X By Any Means Necessary”, written by Walter Dean Myers (Myers, Walter Dean. "Bibliography."). Not a surprise to many since Myers was already a four time winner but the book proceeded to win the “National Coretta Scott King Award” in 1994 (Myers, Walter Dean. "Awards."). In this telling tale about the visionary, Myers manages to capture Malcolm perfectly throughout his writing, pointing out and analyzing all the layers Malcolm had as a person. The passage is set across Civil Rights America, from locations like New York to Massachusetts and more. The...
Words: 771 - Pages: 4
...Rhetorical Analysis of the “Ballot or the Bullet” and “Somebody Blew Up America” The purpose of this essay to compare and contrast the rhetoric in Amira Baraka’s “Somebody Blew up America” and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet in regards to ethos, pathos, and logos. Amiri Baraka, born Everett LeRoi Jones, was an African-American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. Baraka read his poem “Somebody Blew up America?” on the September 11th attacks and was heavily criticized for anti-Semitism and attacks on public figures. His poem is free verse and has no set structure but maintains its rhythmic elements for oral sharing. The poem was meant to be shared orally so that Baraka would be able to emphasize and share lines specifically for an audience. Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was an African-American Muslim minister...
Words: 1322 - Pages: 6
...Continuing on with the article the biggest argumentative tactic used by the Author is simply comparing and contrasting the two. Generally she does a good job throughout at comparing the two men at times you get a great sense that they were similar in cause, yet their ideals couldn’t have been further from one another. For instance the biggest argument that Carson uses several times is how differentiated King and Malcolm's backgrounds were. For instance Carson elaborates “While Martin lived through the Depression in relative comfort as the offspring of a successful minister, Malcolm’s family began a downward slide after the death in 1931 of his father—the victim, he believed, of a white racist group”(pg.13). While this method of fighting for...
Words: 405 - Pages: 2
...Political bosses assisted them with work, schooling, and places to live in exchange for political support. Although the political bosses became shady, they helped the immigrants assimilate themselves into American culture, but not all of the ethnic groups assimilated so easily, especially African Americans. Beginning in 1861-1865 a Civil War was being fought to end slavery against the northern and southern states. “Many whites who opposed slavery, such as Abraham Lincoln, did not believe in racial equality” (Schaefer, 2015). But in the end, because the northern states won, President Lincoln abolished slavery. Although slavery had ended, segregation had not and during the 1950s and 1960s the Civil Rights Movement began. The most prominent leaders of this movement were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...Anika Her 10/18/15 ENG 5 Guerin The Ballot or the Bullet Speech Analysis Malcolm X gave his speech by persuading African Americans to inundate their differences, only to learn that they all had the same issue: “political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.” Noting that 1964 was the year of the elections, he asked his audience to choose whether they wanted to merge with white communities as one to receive equal rights along with voting for who will sit in the White House and who will sit in the dog house, or to stand up through the years of injustice they have received. He then warns them by declaring that it will end up in a situation where bullets will take place instead of not putting in a ballot. While delivering his speech, it is seen that he attempts to reunite all African-Americans by using rhetoric. Malcolm also mentions that every human should be treated equally and given equal rights no matter what race you were. In addition, he also impersonated these issues into his perspective for his audience and to hopefully persuade them as well by providing characteristic uses of both language and imagery. Then, he reveals how democrats are deceivers and portrays that as long as the Americans had control of both the Senate and House, the African-Americans will never gain a helping hand from them. His describes himself through a quote by stating that he was not an anti-democrat or an anti-republican. All he wanted was...
Words: 739 - Pages: 3
...encourage reading. Malcolm X was a major advocate for the power of literature, as well as the knowledge that emerges from a well read individual's mind. In a personal essay from his biography, the civil rights leader discusses the pleasure that reading can provide as well as the craving for knowledge it invokes, however, in today’s world of endless distractions it’s extremely likely he would have faced many...
Words: 639 - Pages: 3
...The Ballot or the Bullet Analysis Jasmine Grant Jackson State University By Any Means Necessary! (Malcolm X) Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl’s civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion and the KKK, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday. Regardless of the Little’s efforts to get away from the Legion, in 1929, their Michigan home was burned to the ground. Two years later, Earl’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks. Police ruled both incidents as accidents. Malcolm’s mother, .Louise suffered emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution, while her children were split up among various foster homes and orphanages. In Malcolm’s late teens he began to drift into the life of petty crime and was convicted on burglary charges. He was to serve 10 years of prison but was granted parole after seven. During his sentence he was converted to the Nation of Islam under the “Great” Elijah Muhammad. He became very active in the Nation and his great talents as a leader moved him to the number two spot in the Muslim organization. In 1964, he withdrew from the Nation upon the knowledge of Muhammad’s...
Words: 1562 - Pages: 7
...Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources This investigation will explore the question: To what extent was the Second Wave Feminism Movement inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and serve as a continuation of its ideals? The Civil Rights of the 1950s and the feminism of the 1960s will be explored to show how the two bled together and were not entirely separate. The first source to be evaluated is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. There is value in this source because it provides a comparison point for the rest of the investigation. Since many historians look to Friedan’s book as the beginning of the feminist movement in the 1960s, it provides helpful insight into the initial goals for the movement. As a journalist, she was...
Words: 2124 - Pages: 9
...wealth to those deprived of it by their white capitalist oppressors. The theme of this researched remained embed in my mind during, and after the 2008-09 presidential campaign of former Sen. Barack Obama, when some of his political opponents thought it beneficial to disclose Obama’s connections to a Black Theology of Liberation. Through this research I seek not only to obtain a broader understanding of this particular theology of liberation, but also to understand the Marxist ideological concept within the Black Theology of Liberation. Towards the culmination of the decade which witnessed the peak of the Civil Rights movement, black churches throughout America in the 1960s began to search for avenues through which they could help their communities cope with racial discrimination. Caught between the contradicting preachings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, a peculiar young theology student from Union Theological Seminary of New York City, James H. Cone, published his proposal for a Black Theology of Liberation titled Black Theology and Black Power (1969). This first scholarly work served as an introduction to his following work A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), which earned him the title of the founder or chief architect of Black Theology of Liberation in America. Cone, who was born and raised in the segregated South of the United States, not only developed this avenue through which the African-American community could assimilate their experiences with the gospel...
Words: 5206 - Pages: 21
...The Black Panthers vs. The Black Panthers The sixties was a time in American society where the youth from the post-war baby boom era became teenagers and the young adults. The movement from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in the revolutionary ways of thinking and change in the cultural of the American way of life. With an extreme admiration of no longer being an image of their predeceasing generation, young Americans wanted and demanded change. These changes affected education, values, laws, entertainment, and the way of life for several citizens around the country. As society, it is extremely important to understand that although the valiant efforts and impact that African American’s had, particularly in the 1950’s and 1960’s, in helping restructure American culture, many of the racist views of the past still play apart in American society. The 1950’s is often described as the calm before the storm of the 1960’s. During this time period, society was very much conformed to the views of conservative living. The desire for security during this era, reinforced by McCarthyism at home and the Korean War, created was known as the cold war culture. During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under President Truman and Eisenhower. Because of extreme paranoia caused by Communism following WWII, conformity in the United States became an ideal way to distinguish American culture from the rest of the world. Conformity...
Words: 3406 - Pages: 14
