In 1964, Malcolm X broke away from the Nation of Islam (NOI), he then traveled to America’s urban centers delivering one of his most powerful speeches titled: “The Ballot or the Bullet.” It was in the aftermath of this speech that the iconic phrase “By Any Means Necessary” was derived. That speech was a direct warning to the political ruling class of that era: “Either give us the vote, or we are going to fight for it.” The following year (1965), President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voter’s Rights Bill into law, paving the way for Black in America to finally cast their ballots unencumbered.
As a college Freshman in 1984, I read the “Autobiography of Malcolm X,” and that led me to Malcolm’s collection of speeches.It was within his collection of speeches that I discovered “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Reading that material articulated in clear language what I was feeling at that time in my life but was unable to express in my own words. Malcolm explained the political philosophy of Black Nationalism as the means to create a program of “re-education to open our people’s eyes, making us more politically conscious and politically mature.
Unfortunately, also in 1965, Malcolm’s life was snuffed out by the foes his energy and message threatened.
Now it’s 2018 and I bring this speech up because sitting here in prison for the past 30 years, I recognize that the condition that inspired Malcolm to give that speech still exists today. Nationally, voting rights are under attack in minority areas plus Chicago’s Black community still hasn’t developed the political consciousness or maturity that Malcolm called for.
What makes my insight unique on this subject is my prison experience. Because of that I’ve lived in a community of thousands of men. Men from different areas of Chicago, but connected socially and economically in regards to the wretched conditions in some Black communities. Most of them are under educated and disinterested in politics. In fact, most of them feel so disconnected from the world of politics that they have never voted, don’t aspire to vote, and it’s difficult to even engage them in a political conversation. I know this because I’ve been trying to change the dynamic for the past 30 years, in five different prisons I have been held in.
I asked a couple of artists to draw a representation of The Ballot and the Bullet. Both images use the skyline of Chicago as a back drop to help focus on this specific area. I then gathered a group of young prisoners from different parts of Chicago and I posed this question: “What is the most powerful agent for change in your community, your vote or a gun?” Out of the 15 guys, 12 immediately answered ” the gun!” I asked the remaining 3 why did they answer “the ballot?” Two of them said they didn’t want to be a shooter. The one remaining guy said, “My vote stands for positive change and the only things guns and bullets do is change people from alive to dead.”
The prisoners I asked about the speech are no different from the thousands of men whom I lived among that carried guns and used guns. To most of them, guns represent the only means to power that they can wield. Also, unlike Malcolm’s call for the men of the community to use guns to protect their community, most can only conceive using a gun to break their community.
I showed the young guys the artist’s drawing after they answered the question. Most stayed around and we had a smooth dialogue about the art work and the speech. It was just a seed…
That’s about all I and the hand full of men operating the same way inside these prisons can do is plant seeds. We need help from outside activists, groups and organizations to come in and cultivate these seeds so they can take root in the consciousness of the young men’s hearts and minds. So many of our brother can’t understand Malcolm’s message, they chose the bullet and pulled the trigger on the community in a feeble attempt to feel powerful.
Envision the children praying
because they don’t want to be shot
by the thugs or the cops.
Now envision the community
coming together in unity,
to drop ballots in the voting box.
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