Black Nationalism

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.”