For Lincoln, the bullet was not an option. The title of Malcolm’s speech alluded to a speech that President Abraham Lincoln made on May 19, 1865, in which he proclaimed that the ballot is stronger than the bullet. What contributed to this effect in no small measure was the way Malcolm used historical figures, current events, and certain aspects of American history to buttress his ideas. The “Ballot or the Bullet” was widely perceived as a confrontational, stirring up strong feelings in many white Americans. These themes highlight the problems African Americans were facing at the time, the causes of those problems, and the necessary steps taken in order to eradicate those problems. This work identifies the lecture’s major themes: The Enemy and the Conspiracy, Human Rights, American Themes Leaders and Violence, and the concept of unity.

This article seeks to identify the reasons why messages such as Malcolm’s “the Ballot or The Bullet” lead to divergent interpretations, and thereby sheds light on the study of African American rhetoric, generally. These conflicting interpretations of this speech bring to the forefront the complexity of African American rhetoric and the need to investigate and interpret thoroughly the messages being conveyed via this type of rhetoric. It represented his move away from the narrow ‘skin-nationalism’ of the Black Muslims to an affirmation of blackness which enabled him to cooperate with Martin King and others in mainstream civil rights movement” (Cone 1991, p. James Cone suggests “While the ‘bullet’ symbolized the continuity in Malcolm X’s thinking, the ‘ballot’ signaled an important change.

Some who heard this address called it the best oratory Malcolm X ever gave. Others saw an evolution in Malcolm X’s philosophy and interpreted the speech in a way that was contrary to its reading by the mainstream press and its readers. However, the “Ballot or the Bullet” constitutes only one dimension in the complex rhetorical development of Malcolm X’s dissent from the American dream of equality, a dissent that ultimately entailed the rather peaceful goal of radically redrawing the ideological boundaries of American life to constitute a viable space for America’s Black citizens (Charland 1987, p. News and World Report headline was “Broader Malcolm: His Theme Now Is Violence.” The Chicago Defender reported “Negroes Need Guns, Declares Malcolm X” (Cone 1991, p. Republican Congressman Jack Miller of Iowa insisted that Malcolm X made irresponsible statements designed to promote bloodshed and violence (Condit and Lucaites 1993a, p. Considered one of Malcolm’s most poignant and militant statements, the speech elicited an enormous amount of attention from the mass media as well as from members of the political establishment, most of which interpreted it as a call to arms for the purpose of the violent overthrow of the US government (Condit and Lucaites 1993b, p. A good example of this is Malcolm X’s 1964 speech the “Ballot or the Bullet,” delivered on April 3rd of that year at Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

One area that I find most interesting is that which involves African American rhetoric and Civil Rights, who may be denying Civil Rights, and the best way to obtain Civil Rights. Debates surrounding the message content of African American Footnote 1 rhetoric and the goals rhetoricians had hoped to achieve are a time-honored tradition.

War speech rhetorical moves