He was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska- and he became one of the most celebrated, influential and misunderstood leaders of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s

Malcolm X was a Muslim Minister and human rights activist - best known as a pioneer of the Black Nationalist Movement and as an apostle for self-respect and uncompromising resistance to white oppression.

By the time he was assassinated 56 years ago this week - Malcolm X had become one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.

He is credited with raising the self-esteem of Black Americans and reconnecting them with their African heritage. He is largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the Black community in the United States.

Many African Americans, especially those who lived in cities in the Northern and Western United States, felt that Malcolm X better articulated their struggle against racism and inequality than the mainstream civil rights movement did.

He argued that if the U.S. government was unwilling or unable to protect Black people, Black people should protect themselves.

Although he had publicly criticized the mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on nonviolence and racial integration - after he left the Nation of Islam in March of 1964, Malcolm X declared his willingness to cooperate with that Movement.

Of those civil rights leaders he said: “I've forgotten everything bad that [they] have said about me, and I pray they can also forget the many bad things I've said about them."

Originally delivered in Cleveland, on April 3rd 1964 - this recorded version was delivered in April 12th in Detroit.

Today, historians regard “The Ballot or the Bullet” as one of the most influential speech in American history. 

Far from a call to violence – Malcolm X sought educate his community as to the extent of their political power:

The whites are so evenly divided that every time they vote, the race is so close they have to go back and count the votes all over again. Which means that any block, any minority that has a block of votes that stick together is in a strategic position. Either way you go, that's who gets it. You're in a position to determine who'll go to the White House and who'll stay in the doghouse. 

While distancing himself from the Nation of Islam - Malcolm X described his continued commitment to Black Nationalism, which he defined as the philosophy that African Americans should control the political, economic and social destinies of their own communities.

Like many of the great speeches we feature - Malcolm X tied his and his people’s struggle to American’s Founding and embraced the spirit of the American Revolution:

The white man made the mistake of letting me read his history books. He made the mistake of teaching me that Patrick Henry was a patriot, and George Washington – there wasn't nothing non-violent about ol' Pat, or George Washington. "Liberty or death"- is what brought about the freedom of whites in this country from the English.

This is why I say it's the ballot or the bullet. It's liberty or it's death. It's freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody.

Here is Malcolm X’s historic speech - "The Ballot or the Bullet" - in its entirety.

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