The Bullet or the Bullet: Malcolm’s Vision of Pan-African Revolutionary Violence

• In Event: Black Autobiographies and Blueprints for Justice: Voices of Power

Abstract

Despite the canonical interpretation of Malcolm’s Ballot or the Bullet speech, this paper demonstrates that he was making the case that armed struggle was the only option for those in pursuit of Black liberation in America. Previous scholarship has offered surface-level analyses of the speech that suggest that Malcolm became open to the efficacy of electoral politics in the struggle for Black freedom. However, this seems to ignore indirect arguments in the speech, and it decontextualizes his “ballot or the bullet” phrase from other themes in Malcolm’s thought. Moreover, many justify this interpretation by mistaking tactics Malcolm used to infiltrate the broader movement as authoritative insight on the teleology of his praxis. However, Malcolm only presents the ballot as an option in theory. By contrast, in reality it is a nonviable option. Based on a careful analysis of the two extant versions of the Ballot or the Bullet speeches, along with statements Malcolm made in speeches and interviews in the surrounding weeks, I will show that Malcolm consistently maintained throughout his public life that it was impossible to obtain Black liberation in the United States outside of armed struggle.

Author

• Jimmy Butts, Trinity University