When was the ballot or the bullet speech

You're the one who put the present Democratic administration in Washington, D. The whites were evenly divided. It was the fact that you threw 80 percent of your votes behind the Democrats that put the Democrats in the White House. When you see this, you can see that the Negro vote is the key factor. And despite the fact that you are in a position to be the determining factor, what do you get out of it?

The Democrats have been in Washington, D. They've been down there four years. And they're — all other legislation they wanted to bring up they've brought it up, and gotten it out of the way, and now they bring up you. And now they bring up you! You put them first and they put you last.

Because you're a chump! In Washington, D. Only are Republican. In the Senate there are 67 Democrats. Only 33 are Republicans. The party that you backed controls two-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate and still they can't keep their promise to you.

Any time you throw your weight behind a political party that controls two-thirds of the government, and that party can't keep the promise that it made to you during election-time, and you're dumb enough to walk around continuing to identify yourself with that party, you're not only a chump but you're a traitor to your race. What kind of alibi do come up with? They try and pass the buck to the Dixiecrats. Now, back during the days when you were blind, deaf and dumb, ignorant, politically immature, naturally you went along with that.

But today, as your eyes come open, and you develop political maturity, you're able to see and think for yourself, and you can see that a Dixiecrat is nothing but a Democrat — in disguise.

You look at the structure of the government that controls this country, is controlled by 16 senatorial committees and 20 congressional committees. Of the 16 senatorial committees that run the government, 10 of them are in the hands of southern segregationists. Of the 20 congressional committees that run the government, 12 of them are in the hands of southern segregationists. And they're going to tell you and me that the South lost the war? You, today, are in the hands of a government of segregationists.

Racists, white supremacists, who belong to the Democratic party but disguise themselves as Dixiecrats. A Dixiecrat is nothing but a Democrat. Whoever runs the Democrats is also the father of the Dixiecrats. And the father of all of them is sitting in the White House. They'll lynch in Texas as quick as they'll lynch you in Mississippi. Only in Texas they lynch you with a Texas accent, in Mississippi they lynch you with a Mississippi accent.

The first thing the cracker does when he comes in power, he takes all the Negro leaders and invites them for coffee. To show that he's all right. And those Uncle Toms can't pass up the coffee.

Look at the logic that they're using. What about Eastland? He's from the South. Why not make him the president? If Johnson is a good man 'cause he's from Texas, and being from Texas will enable him to deal with the South, Eastland can deal with the South better than Johnson!

Oh, I say you been misled. You been had. You been took. And surprisingly, the same senators that were involved in the filibuster were from the states where there were the most Negroes.

Why were they filibustering the civil rights legislation? Because the civil rights legislation is supposed to guarantee boarding rights to Negroes from those states. And those senators from those states know that if the Negroes in those states can vote, those senators are down the drain.

And in the Constitution of this country it has a stipulation, wherein, whenever the rights, the voting rights of people in a certain district are violated, then the representative who's from that particular district, according to the Constitution, is supposed to be expelled from the Congress. Now, if this particular aspect of the Constitution was enforced, why, you wouldn't have a cracker in Washington, D.

But what would happen? When you expel the Dixiecrat, you're expelling the Democrat. When you destroy the power of the Dixiecrat, you are destroying the power of the Democratic Party.

So how in the world can the Democratic Party in the South actually side with you, in sincerity, when all of its power is based in the South? These Northern Democrats are in cahoots with the southern Democrats. You know how it goes. One of 'em comes to you and make believe he's for you. And he's in cahoots with the other one that's not for you. Because neither one of 'em is for you.

But they got to make you go with one of 'em or the other. So this is a con game, and this is what they've been doing with you and me all of these years. First thing, Johnson got off the plane when he become president, he ask, "Where's Dickey? Dickey is old southern cracker Richard Russell. Lookie here! Yes, Lyndon B.

Johnson's best friend is the one who is a head, who's heading the forces that are filibustering civil rights legislation. You tell me how in the hell is he going to be Johnson's best friend? No, that man is too tricky. Especially if his friend is still ol' Dickey. Whenever the Negroes keep the Democrats in power they're keeping the Dixiecrats in power. This is true! A vote for a Democrat is nothing but a vote for a Dixiecrat.

I know you don't like me saying that. I'm not the kind of person who come here to say what you like. I'm going to tell you the truth whether you like it or not.

Up here in the North you have the same thing. The Democratic Party don't — they don't do it that way. They got a thing they call gerrymandering. They maneuver you out of power. Even though you can vote they fix it so you're voting for nobody. They got you going and coming. In the South they're outright political wolves, in the North they're political foxes.

A fox and a wolf are both canine, both belong to the dog family. You going to choose a northern dog or a southern dog? Because either dog you choose, I guarantee you, you'll still be in the doghouse. 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. Historically, revolutions are bloody, oh yes they are. They have never had a bloodless revolution. Or a non-violent revolution. That don't happen even in Hollywood [laughter] You don't have a revolution in which you love your enemy. And you don't have a revolution in which you are begging the system of exploitation to integrate you into it. Revolutions overturn systems.

Revolutions destroy systems. A revolution is bloody, but America is in a unique position. She's the only country in history, in the position actually to become involved in a bloodless revolution. And there was nothing more bloody than the American Revolution. But today, this country can become involved in a revolution that won't take bloodshed. All she's got to do is give the black man in this country everything that's due him, everything.

I hope that the white man can see this. If you don't see it you're going to become involved in some action in which you don't have a chance. We don't care anything about your atomic bomb; it's useless, because other countries have atomic bombs. When two or three different countries have atomic bombs, nobody can use them. So it means that the white man today is without a weapon. If you want some action you've got to come on down to Earth, and there's more black people on Earth than there are white people.

I only got a couple more minutes. The white man can never win another war on the ground. His days of war — victory — his days of battleground victory are over. Can I prove it? Take all the action that's going on this Earth right now that he's involved in. Tell me where he's winning — nowhere. Why, some rice farmers, some rice farmers! Some rice-eaters ran him out of Korea, yes they ran him out of Korea. Rice-eaters, with nothing but gym shoes and a rifle and a bowl of rice, took him and his tanks and his napalm and all that other action he's supposed to have and ran him across the Yalu.

Because the day that he can win on the ground has passed. Up in French Indochina, those little peasants, rice-growers, took on the might of the French army and ran all the Frenchmen, you remember Dien Bien Phu!

The same thing happened in Algeria, in Africa. They didn't have anything but a rifle. The French had all these highly mechanized instruments of warfare. But they put some guerilla action on. And a white man can't fight a guerilla warfare. Guerilla action takes heart, take nerve, and he doesn't have that. He's brave when he's got planes. He's brave when he's got bombs. He's brave when he's got a whole lot of company along with him.

But you take that little man from Africa and Asia; turn him loose in the woods with a blade. A blade. All he needs is a blade. And when the sun comes down — goes down and it's dark, it's even-Stephen. So it's the, it's the ballot or the bullet. Today, our people can see that we're faced with a government conspiracy.

This government has failed us. The senators who are filibustering concerning your and my rights, that's the government. Don't say it's southern senators, this is the government. This is a government filibuster. It's not a segregationist filibuster, it's a government filibuster. Any kind of activity that takes place on the floor of the Congress or the Senate, that's the government. Any kind of dilly-dallying, that's the government. Any kind of pussy-footing, that's the government.

Any kind of act that's designed to delay or deprive you and me, right now, of getting full rights, that's the government that's responsible. And anytime you find the government involved in a conspiracy to violate the citizenship or the civil rights of a people in , then you are wasting your time going to that government expecting redress. Instead you have to take that government to the world court and accuse it of genocide and all of the other crimes that it is guilty of today. So those of us whose political and economic and social philosophy is black nationalism have become involved in the civil rights struggle.

We have injected ourselves into the civil rights struggle. And we intend to expand it from the level of civil rights to the level of human rights. As long as you fight it on the level of civil rights, you're under Uncle Sam's jurisdiction. You're going to his court expecting him to correct the problem. He created the problem. He's the criminal! You don't take your case to the criminal, you take your criminal to court.

When the government of South Africa began to trample upon the human rights of the people of South Africa they were taken to the U. When the government of Portugal began to trample upon the rights of our brothers and sisters in Angola, it was taken before the U.

Why, even the white man took the Hungarian question to the U. And just this week, Chief Justice Goldberg was crying over three million Jews in Russia, about their human rights — charging Russia with violating the U. Charter because of its mistreatment of the human rights of Jews in Russia. Now you tell me how can the plight of everybody on this Earth reach the halls of the United Nations and you have twenty-two million Afro-Americans whose churches are being bombed, whose little girls are being murdered, whose leaders are being shot down in broad daylight?

Now you tell me why the leaders of this struggle have never taken [recording impaired ] [their case to the U. You can be a part of this exciting work by making a donation to The Bill of Rights Institute today!

Make your investment into the leaders of tomorrow through the Bill of Rights Institute today! Learn more about the different ways you can partner with the Bill of Rights Institute. The Bill of Rights Institute engages, educates, and empowers individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society.

Amid a trend of increasing violence against civil rights workers and supporters, many activists became skeptical of the multiracial, nonviolent approach espoused by Martin Luther King Jr. New leaders offering a more militant message began to emerge, including Malcolm X.

In developing this philosophy, Malcolm X was influenced by his one-time mentor and leader, Elijah Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam, who advocated a separate state for African Americans. Upcoming Events Explore our upcoming webinars, events and programs.

View All Events. Invest In Our Future The most effective way to secure a freer America with more opportunity for all is through engaging, educating, and empowering our youth. Support now Make your investment into the leaders of tomorrow through the Bill of Rights Institute today! Make a Donation. Learn More. About BRI The Bill of Rights Institute engages, educates, and empowers individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society.

Page: Resources Library Arrow icon. Unit: Chapter Use this primary source text to explore key historical events. Suggested Sequencing Use this primary source with the Black Power Narrative to discuss the call for violence in the African American civil rights movement.

Introduction Amid a trend of increasing violence against civil rights workers and supporters, many activists became skeptical of the multiracial, nonviolent approach espoused by Martin Luther King Jr. Sourcing Questions Who is the speaker in this source? Briefly explain the idea of black nationalism with regard to achieving full civil rights for African Americans.

He just happens to be a white man. All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.

Whether we are Christians or Muslims or nationalists or agnostics or atheists, we must first learn to forget our differences. If we have differences, let us differ in the closet; when we come out in front, let us not have anything to argue about until we get finished arguing with the man. If the late President Kennedy could get together with Khrushchev and exchange some wheat , we certainly have more in common with each other than Kennedy and Khrushchev had with each other.

The most explosive year. As they nourish these dis satisfactions, it can only lead to one thing, an explosion; and now we have the type of black man on the scene in America today. Everything that came out of Europe, every blue-eyed thing, is already an American. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. Anything can sit. When we look like -- at other parts of this earth upon which we live, we find that black, brown, red, and yellow people in Africa and Asia are getting their independence.

It is nationalism that brought about the independence of the people in Asia. Every nation in Asia gained its independence through the philosophy of nationalism. Every nation on the African continent that has gotten its independence brought it about through the philosophy of nationalism. And it will take black nationalism -- that to bring about the freedom of 22 million Afro-Americans here in this country where we have suffered colonialism for the past years.

America is just as much a colonial power as England ever was. America is just as much a colonial power as France ever was. What is 20th -- What do you call second class citizenship? Second class citizenship is nothing but 20th century slavery. They just have slaves and people who are free. Well this country is a hypocrite.

They try and make you think they set you free by calling you a second class citizen. And looks like it might be the year of the ballot or the bullet. Why does it look like it might be the year of the ballot or the bullet? Because Negroes have listened to the trickery, and the lies, and the false promises of the white man now for too long. And in this seems to be the year, because what can the white man use now to fool us after he put down that march on Washington? And you see all through that now.

He tricked you, had you marching down to Washington. He made a fool out of you. He made you think you were going somewhere and you end up going nowhere but between Lincoln and Washington. So today, our people are disillusioned. That old Uncle Tom action is outdated. What do we care about odds? When this country here was first being founded there were 13 colonies. The -- The whites were colonized. Liberty or death was what brought about the freedom of whites in this country from the English. Why they faced the wrath of the entire British Empire.

And in those days they used to say that the British Empire was so vast and so powerful when the sun -- the sun would never set on it. This is a new generation. Why is -- Why does this loom to be such an explosive political year? Because this is the year of politics. This is the year when all of the white politicians are going to come into the Negro community. You never see them until election time.

When we open our eyes today and look around America, we see America not through the eyes of someone who have -- who has enjoyed the fruits of Americanism, we see America through the eyes of someone who has been the victim of Americanism. If you -- If you go to jail, so what? If you black, you were born in jail.

If you black, you were born in jail, in the North as well as the South. Stop talking about the South. They see that 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. And that You can keep Johnson in Washington D. The whites were evenly divided. It was the fact that you threw 80 percent of your votes behind the Democrats that put the Democrats in the White House. When you see this, you can see that the Negro vote is the key factor.

And despite the fact that you are in a position to -- to be the determining factor, what do you get out of it? The Democrats have been in Washington D. And now, they bring up you. In Washington D. In the Senate there are 67 Democrats; only 33 are Republicans. And what kind of alibi do they come up with? They try and pass the buck to the Dixiecrats. Now back during the days when you were blind, deaf, and dumb, ignorant, politically immature, naturally you went along with that.

Of the 16 senatorial committees that run the government, 10 of them are in the hands of Southern segregationists. Of the 20 congressional committees that run the government, 12 of them in the -- are in the hands of Southern segregationists. And they're going to tell you and me that the South lost the war. You, today, have -- are in the hands of a government of segregationists, racists, white supremacists who belong to the Democratic party, but disguise themselves as Dixiecrats.

A Dixiecrat is nothing but a Democrat. Whoever runs the Democrats is also the father of the Dixiecrats, and the father of all of them is sitting in the White House. Only in -- in Texas they lynch you with a Texas accent; in Mississippi they lynch you with a Mississippi accent. What about Eastland? Make him the President.