THE BALLOT OR THE BULLET - MALCOLM X Thats why, in 1964 [2014], its time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what were supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we dont cast a ballot, its going to end up in a situation where were going to have to cast a bullet. Its either a ballot or a bullet. There are so many gems in this speech, I couldnt capture them all. However, the link for the audio and text is below. Decisions are made by those that show up......#Vote If the black man in these Southern states had his full voting rights, the key Dixiecrats in Washington, D. C., which means the key Democrats in Washington, D.C., would lose their seats. The Democratic Party itself would lose its power. It would cease to be powerful as a party. When you see the amount of power that would be lost by the Democratic Party if it were to lose the Dixiecrat wing, or branch, or element, you can see where its against the interests of the Democrats to give voting rights to Negroes in states where the Democrats have been in complete power and authority ever since the Civil War. You just cant belong to that Party without analyzing it. I say again, Im not anti-Democrat, Im not anti-Republican, Im not anti-anything. Im just questioning their sincerity, and some of the strategy that theyve been using on our people by promising them promises that they dont intend to keep. When you keep the Democrats in power, youre keeping the Dixiecrats in power. I doubt that my good Brother Lomax will deny that. A vote for a Democrat is a vote for a Dixiecrat. Thats why, in 1964, its time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what were supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we dont cast a ballot, its going to end up in a situation where were going to have to cast a bullet. Its either a ballot or a bullet. In the North, they do it a different way. They have a system thats known as gerrymandering, whatever that means. It means when Negroes become too heavily concentrated in a certain area, and begin to gain too much political power, the white man comes along and changes the district lines. You may say, Why do you keep saying white man? Because its the white man who does it. I havent ever seen any Negro changing any lines. They dont let him get near the line. Its the white man who does this. And usually, its the white man who grins at you the most, and pats you on the back, and is supposed to be your friend. He may be friendly, but hes not your friend. The political philosophy of black nationalism is being taught in the Christian church. Its being taught in the NAACP. Its being taught in CORE meetings. Its being taught in SNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee meetings. Its being taught in Muslim meetings. Its being taught where nothing but atheists and agnostics come together. Its being taught everywhere. Black people are fed up with the dillydallying, pussyfooting, compromising approach that weve been using toward getting our freedom. We want freedom now, but were not going to get it saying We Shall Overcome. Weve got to fight until we overcome. The economic philosophy of black nationalism is pure and simple. It only means that we should control the economy of our community. Why should white people be running all the stores in our community? Why should white people be running the banks of our community? Why should the economy of our community be in the hands of the white man? Why? If a black man cant move his store into a white community, you tell me why a white man should move his store into a black community. The philosophy of black nationalism involves a re-education program in the black community in regards to economics. Our people have to be made to see that any time you take your dollar out of your community and spend it in a community where you dont live, the community where you live will get poorer and poorer, and the community where you spend your money will get richer and richer. After our religious services are over, then as Muslims we become involved in political action, economic action and social and civic action. We become involved with anybody, any where, any time and in any manner thats designed to eliminate the evils, the political, economic and social evils that are afflicting the people of our community. The political philosophy of black nationalism means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community; no more. The black man in the black community has to be re-educated into the science of politics so he will know what politics is supposed to bring him in return. Dont be throwing out any ballots. A ballot is like a bullet. You dont throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket. Decisions are made by those who show up - Malcolm X https://youtube/watch?v=7oVW3HfzXkg thespeechsite/en/famous/MalcolmX-1.pdf
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:03:56 +0000
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