What Is The Relevance Of Malcolm X Persuasive Speech

Malcolm X knew he was not the most articulated person. Before prison he was a articulate hustler who commanded attention. Even though people listened he still spoke in slang. He was aware that his lack of proper speech would not sway his audience all the time. He wanted people to listen to what he had to say and for people to listen they had to understand what he was saying.

Notoriously, Martin Luther King Jr. has been the name of the civil rights movement, the one we all look up to in terms of the end of segregation. But, this respectable man was not the only one to take action in the name of equality, as another infamous speaker, Malcolm X, also drove the civil rights movement in a way of ferociousness and rage. This man, the head of the Black Nationalist movement, gave phenomenal speeches that indirectly propelled the civil rights movement, including Prospects For Freedom, By Any Means Necessary, and Message to the Grassroots. Malcolm X was a man who was an illustrious black nationalist, and was the speaker for the Nation of Islam. He often preached controversial things that regularly contrasted him with Dr.

This makes his credibility even more defined by comparing himself to King as a fellow minister. Therefore by referring to King in the beginning of his speech, Malcolm X establishes a firm base in order to attract listeners to his words. X also utilizes rhetorical questions to strengthen the effectiveness of his speech when he states “Why were they filibustering the civil rights legislation.” This technique gets the reader thinking and actually initiate the stage of cognition within him, by specifically asking a question they would not know the answer directly to. However, X establishes that he is knowledgeable of the topic and he knows the solutions that is required to make this drastic change

uses pathos! Martin Luther King using pathos helped his speeches become more emotional, heartwarming, and moving. An example of this is when Martin Luther King Jr. says “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification”-- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” It is a very moving statement when Mr. King says this because it is talking about these children who want to be together and talking about how vicious racists are in Alabama, this making people want the change. This shows, that having emotional, and moving statements will be able to have people moved and side with one. Overall, Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos to move people and make them feel what he is feeling and maybe change opinions or make someone feel even stronger about what he is fighting

Much like a murderer in a horror film, his attacks were relentless as he detailed the many injustices the US had caused to the many African Americans. His delivery ultimately aided him with getting his message across. Based solely on the immediate reactions from the crowd present at the address, his speech was wildly

Known for his passionate, fiery speeches, Malcolm X delivered what some think to be his best speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, on April 12, 1964. Malcom wanted to invoke change in the hearts of his listeners, and push them to make change by any means necessary. X felt the way to make change is through unity of black citizens, using their voting right to demand change, and if that did not work, violence was an option to push back. Using many rhetorical strategies, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, became one of the most powerful speeches in the world, to this day. Historical Context

Many leaders from within the African American community and beyond rose to prominence during the Civil Rights era, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Andrew Goodman and others. They risked—and sometimes lost—their lives in the name of freedom and equality (“Civil Rights Movement”). On April 3, 1964, Malcolm X delivered his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” in regards to black nationalism during the current election year. “At the time, blacks did not have much say in who they wanted to elect. The white politicians would come into black neighborhoods and push press, and force it upon blacks to put them in office,” (“A Rhetorical Analysis of "The Ballot or the Bullet"​ speech by Malcolm X”).

The speech opened the eyes of many blacks, inspiring a change to begin to occur. Through analogies, metaphors, and a vitriolic and urgent tone, Malcolm X concisely and clearly informs the audience of their mistreatment and encourages them to get their just deserts. X’s intelligence, passion, and oratorical skills helped make “The Ballot or the Bullet” one of the greatest rhetorical acts in black history. This phrase, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, truly defines Malcolm X’s stance on the current treatment of blacks and how he believes a violent response is necessary when all other means of communication are ignored or

Malcolm X’s speech was an effective example of pathetic because he understands the mindset that the audience is in, and knows what to say to excite them about his cause. He used ethos, pathos, and logos to gain the audience's trust and appeal to them both emotionally and logically, in order to inspire them to fight back. He constantly used repetition of the words "the ballot or the bullet" in order to keep the thought present in the head of the audience, and after completing every thought, he found a way to connect it back to the issue of the ballot or the bullet. The speech was strong and inspiring, and because it was combined with his confident and sturdy speaking, he came off as a respectable and intelligent leader who knows what he wants

At the time of this speech, April 12, 1964, the entire nation knows who Malcolm X is. His popularity automatically provides a lot of ethos. To add to that, Malcolm X is a praised speaker amongst the African American community, and is African American himself. Since his audience is towards all Blacks and African Americans, the aforementioned traits helps build a very good amount of ethos. Malcolm uses a lot of inclusive language to increase his ethos.

Malcolm X began his speech by urging African Americans to submerge their differences and realize that they all have a common problem - political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation at the hands of the white man. Malcolm X was one of the most dynamic, dramatic and influential figures of the civil rights era. He was an apostle of black nationalism, self respect, and uncompromising resistance to white oppression. Malcolm X was a polarizing figure who both energized and divided African Americans, while frightening and alienating many whites.

Instead of promoting peace to solve problems, Malcolm X used violence when necessary to get his points across to his audience. Little’s speech has a significant lack of logic; although, it is a clever move to predominantly use emotional appeal due to his motive - to incite anger in America and to showcase the government's faults. Through repetition of inflammatory phrases and accusatory diction both which create appeals to anger, Malcolm X effectively persuades his audience during “The Ballot Or The Bullet.” Throughout his speech, Malcolm X repeats incendiary phrases in order to kindle vexation in his audience. This tactic encourages his listeners to stand up for themselves now that they can see the issue at hand.

Over the course of Malcolm X’s life, his perspective of identity changed, particularly before and after he went to Mecca. In the speech By Any Means Necessary Malcolm stated, “The time for you and me to allow ourselves to be brutalized non-violently is passe….Be non-violent only with those who are non-violent to you”(Malcolm X). Essentially, Malcolm X is implying that we should have the rights to defend ourselves from those who cause harm to us. Before Malcolm x went to Mecca, he believed that white supremacy could not be conquered through love, but only through vigorous self-defence (“By Any Means Necessary”) .

To achieve this, he used rhetorical strategies such as appeal to pathos and repetition. His passionate tone flowed through these strategies, increasing their persuasive power on the people and encouraging them to follow/listen to his message on racial injustice. While pathos elicits an emotional response from the audience to make them more accepting of King’s ideas, repetition structures the speech and emphasizes key ideas for the audience to take away from listening. These two techniques played a crucial role in furthering his purpose and in provoking a powerful response from the audience that made this speech memorable and awe-inspiring. To this day, King’s speech remains one of the most famous and influential speeches in

Though he is still seen as a controversial figure, I believe that Malcolm X was one of the most compassionate figures in history. He once said, “I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.” I really admire how he fought for what he believed in. Initially, I learned about Malcolm X in my AP English Language class, but I was reintroduced to his influence on the modern day black society in my college history class. Prior to being reintroduced to his philosophy in my college history class, I thought that X was a violent, racist man.