May 31, 2008
While Martin Luther King’s stance on non-violence is probably one of the most famous legacies of the Civil Rights Movement, there were many black activists who had a different view of things. Please examine these resources and respond.
Mos Def reading an excerpt “Message to the Grassroots”, a speech by Malcolm X which explains Malcolm’s position on self-defense:
If you have time to listen to Malcolm himself speaking for longer, here is one of his most famous speeches “The Ballot or the Bullet”.
Here is Fred Hampton, a prominent member of the Chicago Black Panther Party also talking about self-defense:
This is a link to the Black Panther Party 10 Point Program (”What We Want and What We Believe”) from 1966.
Here is part of a movie called “The Murder of Fred Hampton” which focuses on Fred Hampton’s life until he was killed by the FBI. If you start at 1:10, you can watch Fred Hampton and Bobby Seale speak and then there is a little coverage of the “Free Breakfast for Kids” program that the Panthers ran. Watch as much as you can:
June 1st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I think that the ten points that the black panthers want are really good and are well-justified.
I was a little confused as to step 10 and so i looked up plebiscite it means: “A direct vote in which the entire electorate is invited to accept or refuse a proposal”
So from what i can understand step ten in saying: In addition, they’d like a vote of all members of the black community to decide whether or not to break off from the rest of America.
However, One thing I didn’t agree with was point 6: that all Black Men should be exempt from military service. I only don’t agree with it because I think ALL men (and women) should be exempt from the draft and unvoluntary military service. There were many, many white men who didn’t (and still don’t) agree with the unneccesary and murderous military objectives that the united states engages in.
But other then that I thought the black panthers had some good ideas.
June 1st, 2008 at 6:31 pm
martha wat the bleep is that green thing in my post?
June 1st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
I watched the first video. The first thing that caught my attention was when Malcolm X said that America had a problem, and that problem was the unwanted people, like black people. This made me think that America was dumb, because they thought that black people were the problem, but it was actually America that was the problem, in the fact that they were racist.
Another thing i thought was interesting was that Malcolm X said that black people shed blood and were violent for white people in the wars, but when it came to their own rights, they wanted to be peaceful.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:04 pm
ok for some reason everytime i try to watch these clips it keeps saying that the video is unavaible. But yea i already read the ballot or the bullet so i would like to respond to rachel.
In the ballot or the bullet he referred to white people as the enemy. Malcolm in a way was very racist toward the white people…at least that is what i thought. So i came to ask like, why is he complaining white poeple are racist when he is himself? you know? like it makes no sense to solve racism and unequal segregation by being a racist yourself and still wanting to keep whites and blacks separate.
i just thought that was interesting thought and if it didnt make sense just let me know…like seriously a lot of things just make sense in my head and just like not in words lol
June 1st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
@ olivia
the whole black men should be exempt from military service…i sorta agree but then disagree.
why i dis agree:
for me when researching a lot about how black people felt toward war was that they were fighting against other men for the white man who would just go back to treating the black men that served for them bad. Like for me i think the black panthers arent saying black people shouldnt fight for like whats right. But they shouldnt fight or lay down their lives for people who treated them bad before and most will afterwards
why i agree:
because its not fair if only race has to fight. It either all races are exempt from war or none at all. Like playgorund rules stuff you know? lol
again if i don’t make sense please let me know….lol
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:10 am
The story of violence in the civil rights movement is a story less told. because of the success of nonviolence in the movement, the less palatable story did not need to be told. but maybe it does need to be told. while much of the segregation King fought against is gone, the integration he sought is equally absent. Malcolm X and Fred Hampton talked about the Ghettos that were keeping blacks powerless and impoverished, ghettos that still exist. In “the ballot or the bullet” Malcolm X talks about breaking away from the white ownership that leeches money and influence from black communities, and establishing a system where the community could profit from its own labor. In “message to the grassroots” he acknowledges many of the sordid truths surrounding blacks in america. One reason his story was not embraced was because he did not want to work with the system: he believed the system was built on working against blacks, and maintaining power over them at all costs. Fred Hampton, who preached the black nationalism Malcolm X advocated, was killed for opposing the system with force. I think it is interesting to look at what history is told.
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
@ rachel, i didn’t think thats what he was saying or i might be misinterpreting what u said. What i took from it was that malcolm X was promoting violence and was saying black people are peaceful wen their own little girls are dying but will kill others for the white man. I think he was complaining and saying that they should b getting violent.
@ Helen-i feel u. i believe that he seemed to have a somewhat racist perspective which is sad cuz obviously he’d be angry (and rightfully so) at the oppression of his ppl but when he directs that at all white ppl it’s just fighting fire w/ fire and the non-racist white ppl are less likely to accept wat ur saying cuz he’s generalizing against them.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
@ olivia, thats what i too from it too. i guess i didn’t say that very well in what i wrote. yeah i definitely think he was complaining and wanted black people to become more violent when it came to their own rights.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
gotcha. my mistake-i found that interesting too
June 4th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Also can i just say that in the ballot or the bullet that X was basically calling out king. King always wanted be to non violetly fight but instead use your voice and like sing. So basically x was like “we need to stop singing and start swinging”. Basically x wanted to start fighting for equal rights between whites and blacks. i just want to say that olivias quote “fighting fire with fire”…i think that was all x wanted to. and basically if people actually wnet by x said we wouldve had a whole lotta deaths in the united states.