QUIT PLAYIN: 60 Years Later… The Ballot or the Bullet?

60 Years Later…

Although to the casual listener, Malcolm X may have lacked the poetic beauty of Martin Luther King, his plainspoken prophecies were well received. On April 3, 1964, just four years and one day before the assassination of Dr. King, Malcolm traveled to the Corey United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio and delivered a speech that still resonates.

“The Ballot or the Bullet” is a classic speech, so much so that 137 leading scholars who reviewed significant speeches ranked it seventh among the top 100 speeches delivered in America during the 20th century.

While his words have surpassed the “antique” status, Malcolm’s sentiments and wisdom are well-suited for us in 2024. The 60-year-old caveat is as pressing and poignant today as it ever was.

There is no way that you could ever have convinced El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz that as many as 20% of Negro males would support a candidate like the 34X convicted former White House resident, Donald Jailbird Trump. No way, and yet it is a reality that we, as Black people, must overcome.

Just as in 1964, the Bullet was not an option, so we had to rely on the ballot. Let me offer three quotes from this marvelous missive: this sagacious sermon that for your attention and review.

• “It’s time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem — a problem that will make you catch hell whether you’re a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalist. Whether you’re educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you’re going to catch hell just like I am.”

First things first. Look around you. White folks have wrapped themselves in the phony American flag that Trump has retrofitted for his nationalist party. The MAGA movement is just the most recent ad sophisticated amassing of segregationists, supremacists, and insurrectionists. You can either vote for your interests or leave yourselves to the will of a people who continue to devalue your humanity without shame or hesitation.

• “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 doghouse.”

Point two was valid 60 years ago and now. In most urban areas and states that are not lily white, the Black and minority vote maintains the tie-breaker effect. Thankfully, Trump does not enjoy the support of White people whole cloth.

According to the Pew Research Center, he does control 85% of the White Evangelical vote but only 51% of the White Protestant vote. We can pray that thousands of Evangelicals meet Jesus before election day or vote en masse for Joe Biden. We represent the “bloc of votes” that has kept and can somewhat keep this nation sane and somewhat balanced.

• “Don’t be throwing out any ballots. A ballot is like a bullet. You don’t throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.”

Finally, let’s translate what Malcolm meant about not throwing away ballots. Although that caution may seem dated, let me modernize it.

Don’t wait until election day; go vote on the first day of early voting. While it is true that Texas and other blue states work vigorously to suppress minority and Democratic-leaning votes, there is no excuse for us not getting to the polls. You will have at least two weeks to cast a ballot in November. There is nothing mystical or magical about waiting until the last minute.

Barack Obama’s grandmother died of cancer just two days before his election as the 44th President on November 4, 2008. Madelyn Dunham never saw “Barry” cascading the international stage on election night nor witnessed his inaugura- tion. But she left the power and legacy of her vote for him in an absentee ballot box on October 27.

Malcolm is clear. Vote. Vote in unity. Vote early! It’s still the ballot or the Bullet, and we are still hopelessly outgunned.

Go Vote!

A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award-winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac.