The 2012 Ballot: Malcolm X’s Belief’s Come to Fruition

In his speech delivered at the Cory Methodist Church on April 3^rd 1964, Malcolm X excited his crowd and gave many thoughtful insights on the political influences and spectrum of the United States. This was a time of influence, where the African American community had finally begun making waves in the political environment with help from Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. It was only one year after the infamous “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”.

A picture of Malcolm X captured during his famous
"Ballot vs. Bullet" speech in 1964.
Image 1

            In his speech, Malcolm X attempted to motivate many of his fellow African-Americans to exercise their right to vote. However, in a time plagued with racist and discriminating protocols it wasn’t so easy to cast your vote as an African American. The Jim Crow laws and other disingenuous tests remained in place (till 1965), and continued to severely lessen the vote of the African American people. Malcolm X went on warn the politicians that if they would not respect the black vote, they would face the consequences of black violence. He stated “It's time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what we're supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we don't cast a ballot, it's going to end up in a situation where we're going to have to cast a bullet. It's either a ballot or a bullet”(Malcolm X).

            Fortunately, violence was not used and African American voters slowly gained more and more equal voting rights (even though today, minorities face more voting problems than whites). Yet, of all of Malcolm X’s remarks there is one that personally stood out to me as the most profound. After describing the close presidential race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon he went on to state “What does this mean? It means that when white people are evenly divided, and Black people have a bloc of votes of their own, it is left up to them to determine who's going to sit in the White House and who's going to be in the dog house”(Malcolm X).

Demographic results of the 2012 Election (CNN)
Image 2

            This made me think about our most recent election. White voters do not tend to have a nominee that they vote for overwhelmingly. In the 2012 election this past November, Barack Obama garnered a whopping 93% of the black vote while also capturing a solid 71% of the Hispanic vote. With the population of the United States growing, mainly in part to a large minority increase (Hispanic’s especially), their votes are increasing as well. On the other hand, Romney was able to take 59% of the white vote but ultimately ended up short in his quest for the White House.

            These statistics support Malcolm X’s claim, and even further the notion that minorities can decide the outcome of the election. In this particular case, almost 60% of the majority voted for the losing side, suggesting that the Black and Hispanic vote did not break a tie as Mr. X stated in his speech, but overwhelmed the white vote enough so to hand Barack Obama his second term as President of the United States of America.

            Now politicians do not need to fear the “bullet” that Malcolm X was willing to use, but now must respect the power of the minority voting bodies.

Works Cited:

·      Malcolm X. “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Cleveland, Ohio. 3 Apr. 1964.  SoJust: Speeches on Social Justice. EdChange Multicultural Pavillion, 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

·       The Associated Press. "Election Exit Polls Show Voter Demographics." The 
Sacramento Bee. N.p., 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. 
<http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/06/4966431/2012-election-exit-poll-shows.html>. 

Media:

·        http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/politics/10-amazing-demographic-percentages-of-the-2012-election-20121109

·      http://www.blackpast.org/?q=1964-malcolm-x-ballot-or-bullet

·      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRNciryImqg&feature=player_embedded