THE BALLOT AND BULLET by Malcolm X
At present, I’m the minister of newly founded Muslim Mosque .When we realize that Adam Clayton Powell is a Christian minister, he heads Abyssinian Baptist Church. But at the same time, he’s more famous for his political struggle. And Dr. King is a Christian minister from Atlanta, Georgia, or in Atlanta, Georgia, but he’s become more famous for being involved in the civil rights struggle. There’s another in New York, Reverend Galamison… I don’t know if you’ve heard of him out here. He’s a Christian minister from Brooklyn, but has become famous for his fight against a segregated school system in Brooklyn. He’s the head of the Freedom Now Party. All of these are Christian ministers. All of these are Christian ministers, but they don’t come to us as Christian ministers. They come to us as fighters in some other category. I’m a Muslim minister. The same as they are Christian ministers, And I don’t believe in fighting today in any one front, .
BUT IN ALL FRONTS ,In fact, I’m a Black Nationalist Freedom Fighter. Islam is my religion, but I believe my religion is my personal business. Just as the religious philosophy of these others is between them and the God in whom they believe. And this is best this way. Were we to come out here discussing religion? We’d have too many differences from the out start, and we could never get together. So, today? Though Islam is my religious philosophy, my political, economic, and social philosophy is Black Nationalism.
As I say, if we bring up religion? We’ll have differences, we’ll have arguments, and we’ll never be able to get together. But if we keep our religion at home? Keep our religion in the closet, keep our religion between ourselves and our God? But when we come out here, we have a fight that’s common to all of us, against a enemy who is common to all of us. The political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community. The time when white people can come in our community, and get us to vote for them, so that they can be our political leaders, and tell us what to do and what not to do? Is long gone.
We must understand the politics of our community. And we must know what politics is supposed to produce. We must know what politics play in our lives. And until we become politically mature? We will always be misled, lead astray, or deceived, or maneuvered into supporting someone politically, who doesn’t the good of our community at heart. So the political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that we will have to carry on a political program of reeducation: to open our people’s eyes; make us because more politically conscious, politically mature; and then we will, whenever we get ready to cast our ballot?
That ballot will be cast for a man of the community, who has the good of the community at heart.
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