1. What is the author
arguing?
I think Malcolm X is
arguing that Black Nationalism should bring freedom and justice to
the African Americans and is demanding change to free them from
racial discrimination and oppression. He says that something has to
be done about the way they have been treated over the last three
hundred years and is determined that something should change in the
country. He says that Black Nationalism is the only choice that they
have, and says that the blacks cannot be equal if they just expect it
to happen and do nothing about it. He encourages the people that they
should to stop relying on other people for freedom. I liked this
quote a lot because it applies in so many different ways and is
inspiring as well, "Once we see that all these other sources to
which we've turned have failed, we stop turning to them and turn to
ourselves.” Malcolm also says other times of attempting to get the
same rights as white people, but have failed. Like when Kennedy came
into office and said he would give blacks equal rights if the blacks
voted for them but he ended up not doing that. He takes the direct
approach to civil rights by empowering the black community with an
idea that they need to fight for the freedom and civil rights that
they deserve. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr. who promoted a peaceful
approach, Malcolm X suggests a more violent approach toward hate and
discrimination.
2. How does the author
appeal to logos (logic), pathos (emotional quality), and ethos (the
writer’s perceived character) with their argument?
Malcolm X appeals to logos
many time. He does this by talking about the certain promises of
freedom and rights that were supposed to help the blacks but never
happened. He also talks about Kennedy releasing the troops when the
blacks fight back after the white people have their dogs bite the
black women and children. When these dogs were biting the black women
and children, Kennedy had said that they were not violating any laws
and he could not do anything to fix it, but right when the blacks
start defending themselves, Kennedy takes out the troops and sends
them to the blacks that are fighting back and there still wasn't a
new law saying that they could do that. Malcolm also says that
nationalism has worked in other areas which brought freedom and
independence to those other countries. He says "When we look at
other parts of this Earth upon which we live, we find that black,
brown, red, and yellow people in Africa and Asia are getting their
Independence. They are not getting it by singing "We shall
overcome." No, they are getting it through Nationalism. It is
Nationalism that brought about the independence of the people in
Asia."
Malcolm X appeals to
pathos when he expresses emotion in the form of anger. He talks about
empowering beliefs of the Africans and giving them more rights by any
way they can get those rights. He emphasizes how the Africans were
forced into slavery and taken against their will and that they were
taken from their homes. “We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth
Rock landed on us.” is what he said during this part of his speech.
You can see his emotion in his speech and see that he is willing and
ready to fight no matter what.
Malcolm X appeals to ethos
by implying that he is a victim and he has suffered through the same
things that others have and they aren't alone. He states that "All
of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at
the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the
white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man."
He also appeals to ethos when his speech sounds racist but says "The
white man is not inherently evil, but America's racist society
influences him to act evilly." His character is very hard to
read since a lot of his speech don't follow up with each other.
3. What is the
historical significance/relevance of this document?
Malcolm's speech empowered
African American citizens to act by fighting against racial
discrimination and segregation by rioting and doing whatever they
could to be free from the white mans racial slurs and abuse. His
speech caused the black community to believe in themselves and fight
back for equal rights whenever they were mistreated. He stood up and
encouraged his people that Black Nationalism was the key to
independence and freedom.
4. Do you find the
author’s argument convincing? Why or why not?
I find his argument very
convincing. I say this because the black people were not being
treated the same way as the white people. Other groups of people were
finding their freedoms but the African Americans were not getting any
rights because they were not doing anything as a group to get rights.
I think that the way he talked was the most convincing thing about
the speeches. For example, he was straight to the point and was
strong and said “this is what had happened and this is what we
should do and this is what will happen to us if we don't do it.”
He says that the group should help themselves instead of relying on
others to for help. A really good example of this is when he says "It
is a duty, it is your and my duty, as men, as human beings, it's our
duty to our people, to organize ourselves. Let the government know if
they don't stop that Klan, we'll stop it ourselves.”
