The Ballot Or The Bullet (Malcolm X) Analysis

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Mark McCormack English 101, section 1413 Young Strength in Numbers On February 2nd, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, outlawing many forms of racial segregation and granting African Americans the right to vote. As a result of this, on April 12th, just two months later, Malcolm X gave his influential “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech, encouraging African Americans to exercise their newfound right. The speech contains a call to freedom for African Americans and a promise of political power. In this paper, I will demonstrate how Malcolm X connects with his audience in order to argue that the Black community had to come together, regardless of backgrounds, to stand up for themselves against their white suppressors. Malcolm X begins his speech by immediately trying to unite the otherwise religiously separated crowd in one common fight. He suggests to his followers that they should, “Keep our religion at home…but when we come out here, we have a fight that’s common to all of us against an enemy who is common to all of us” (Malcolm X 1). Malcolm X argues that religion should be cast aside when talking about ideas of community and government because it will only lead to arguments that will further divide them. I agree with this approach because the first step in trying to get people to see his way is to make sure the whole audience is thinking the same way. Malcolm X goes on to say that, “They don’t hang you because you’re a Baptist; they hang you cause you’re black. They don’t attack me cause I’m a Muslim; they attack me cause I’m black” (Malcolm X 3). This is an appeal through pathos; he is trying to connect with his audience by getting them to feel strong emotions about how they are treated by other races. But, perhaps more memorable, is the anaphora that truly helps to solidify the positive message to his audience. By repeating the same line twice but
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