Malcolm X’s “Ballot or the Bullet” Speech

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The speaker
Historical context
Rhetorical devices
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Malcolm X’s “Ballot or the Bullet” is considered one of the greatest speeches of all time. It was delivered in 1964, in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, and had a profound effect on the black population and American society in general. In his speech, Malcolm X called for black people to judiciously exercise their right to vote and be ready to take up arms to defend their civil rights. The speech was powerful and motivational, with the speaker masterfully using the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos, and logos to appeal to his audience.

The speaker

Malcolm X, a Muslim minister and black human rights activist, was a popular public figure during the American Civil Rights Movement who advocated for black supremacy and empowerment. For a long time, he was a senior leader of the Nation of Islam, an African American political and religious movement, but a month prior to the speech, he left it due to a conflict with its leader. With the Nation of Islam having significant disagreements with the Civil Rights Movement, favoriting separatism instead of integration and discouraging its members from working alongside civil-rights activists, Malcolm X decided to withdraw. The speech was intended to distance Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam and establish a connection with moderate civil rights leaders.

Historical context

The “Ballot or the Bullet” speech was given by Malcolm X on April 3, 1964, at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and on April 12, 1964, at King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. The Civil Rights Movement was making significant progress at that time. The 1963 March of Washington for Jobs and Freedom had 200,000 to 300,000 participants gathered to hear Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In June 1963, the civil rights bill was proposed by President John F. Kennedy, and after his assassination in November 1963, President Johnson announced his intention to pursue its passage. The Act was intended to end segregation and discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In his speech, Malcolm X continually stressed the importance of the forthcoming elections as the future of the Civil Rights Act depended on their result.

Rhetorical devices

In his speech, Malcolm X uses the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos to appeal to his audience. Developed by Aristotle, these are the three modes for persuasion commonly used by speakers to make listeners believe a particular point of view or encourage them to take certain actions. As defined by Aristotle, ethos “depends on the personal character of the speaker,” pathos “is intended to put the audience into a certain frame of mind,” and logos “depends on the proof, on apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself” (44). In other words, ethos is used to convince the audience by using the authority of the speaker. Pathos appeals to feelings and is intended to create an emotional response to an impassioned plea or a convincing story. Logos appeals to logic and attempts to persuade the audience with facts and figures. A combination of these rhetorical devices produces a complex message that elicits a powerful effect on the listener, persuading and encouraging them to take action.

Ethos

Malcolm X starts his speech with ethos by using arguments appealing to his personality and background. At that time, he was a popular public figure, but the recent changes in his political preferences required some clarification. At the beginning of his speech, he declares that he is still a Muslim, despite his break from the Nation of Islam. He establishes his position by placing himself alongside other ministers involved in the Civil Rights Movement, claiming that he believes in action on all fronts despite his religious views (Malcolm X). Then, he says, “I’m not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it’s time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will make you catch hell whether you’re a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalist” (Malcolm X). Ethos turns into pathos as Malcolm X uses his personal story to encourage the audience to unite and pursue a common goal despite their differences.

In later paragraphs, he also uses an appeal to personality to argue about the position of black people in society. He claims that he does not think of himself as an American, being born in America does not make a man an American, and black people are not considered citizens of the United States (Malcolm X). He compares his place in American society to sitting at the table and watching people eat with nothing on one’s plate. He says, “Sitting at the table doesn’t make you a diner, unless you eat some of what’s on that plate. Being here in America doesn’t make you an American” (Malcolm X). In this abstract, Malcolm X uses ethos to provoke an emotional response from listeners by making them identify themselves with him and his struggle of feeling like an outcast.

Pathos

Throughout the speech, Malcolm X makes extensive use of pathos to create an emotional appeal to the audience. He gets most emotional when articulating his main point about making a choice between the ballot and the bullet. When talking about casting a bullet, Malcolm says, “If you’re afraid to use an expression like that, you should get on out of the country; you should get back in the cotton patch; you should get back to the alley” (Malcolm X). He uses harsh and angry language to encourage the audience to take action. By criticizing the government and using coarse words to describe how they mistreat the black population, he tries to lure the audience on his side. He uses such words as trickery, treachery, window-dressing, and con games to emphasize the undemocratic nature of the modern American government.

Logos

In “Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm X also uses many arguments appealing to facts and logic. He describes the political situation in the country as he sees it, using numerous examples, facts, statistics, and logical arguments. In several paragraphs, he elaborates on the composition of the American government, the percentage of republicans and democrats, and their views on the issues of racial discrimination. He says, “The only reason the Dixiecrats control the key committees is because they have seniority. The only reason they have seniority is because they come from states where Negroes can’t vote. This is not even a government that’s based on democracy” (Malcolm X). Here, he uses statistics and facts to create an emotionally powerful message that stresses out the undemocratic nature of the government. Throughout the speech, the facts are used to support the speaker’s point of view and call the audience for action.

Conclusion

“Ballot or the Bullet” is a powerful speech that uses a wide range of rhetorical devices to create an engaging message. Malcolm X uses ethos to make the audience connect with his experience, logos to make them face reality, and pathos to evoke strong emotions and encourage them to take action to change the situation. He is convincing in persuading the audience that they should vote or take arms if they meet resistance in their pursuit of civil rights.

Works Cited

Aristotle. The Art of Rhetoric. HarperCollins, 2014.

Malcolm X. “Ballot or the Bullet.” 1964, Cleveland, Ohio, Web.

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