A Vote for a Better Future Black Americans of today need to register to vote and make use of their voting rights if they want to see a change to the current state of democracy. In the contemporary world of today Americans are said to be living in the most equal nation, one where its citizens are entitled to a variety of inalienable rights, one in particular being the right to vote. However this was not always the case. From the times of the late Malcolm X, we have not made much progress in our voting affairs. We have the choice and ability to vote, but are we as a people (the black community) utilizing these rights to the utmost? Have we been using our votes to our advantage, or making use of our votes at all? Statistics and I say no. We did not always have choice or say in how things were governed and now that we do, I would hope to see all Black Americans jumping at the chance to be a part of the decision making. Think back to not even a half century ago when this privilege was not ours, and there were many a people ready to give up all they had, their lives and more for it. Malcolm X the revolutionary in his struggle for freedom stressed the importance of Voting. He emphasized the power of the vote and the importance of being granted the right of voting, and even now not as many as need be are making use of their vote. A good beginning is Malcolm X’s speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet” delivered April 3, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio; this speech was devoted to the voting issues of that era. The most significant ideas of that speech that I would like to discuss are exploitation of African-Americans and This struggle was not easy; it was obvious that there were individuals that disagreed with blacks having voting rights. When Malcolm spoke out in “An Appeal to African Heads of State”, he discussed his dissatisfaction with the American government’s willingness to protect the lives its African-American citizens from blatant racists’ murder attacks. Malcolm labels the African-Americans as defenseless. He refers to three recent cases. One case there were two black bodies were found in the Mississippi River, another in Georgia where an unarmed African-American educator was brutally murdered and the last when three civil-rights leaders disappeared completely. Although it was uncertain if they were murdered, the people were l... ... middle of paper ... ...amilies would less. I brought up the question of whether or not people think that voting should be required as a citizen, because I think it would substantiate a better a representation of the nation. The results show that the majority a 60% or 20 people disagreed. I would expect that everyone wants the option and does not want to feel obligated, but I do not see how this in any way could be anything but constructive. When I asked if people think there will ever be a Black/African-American president, results showed mixed answers, majority 9 people and 27% said moderately disagree. This surprised me, to answer there will never be a Black president ever, is extreme, I do believe there will be a Black president, perhaps not in the near future, but for someday it seems reasonable. The last questions of the survey included. Do you think that elections are biased and are typically in favor of the white voters? 33% strongly agreed. And do you think African Americans are under-represented in elections? 22 people or 67% answered strongly or moderately agree.
Assuredly, the purpose of this speech was to enlighten the minds of many Black Americans and engaged them in the fight for the civil rights. They now understand the situation at hand based on the vivid details expressed by X in his speech. As a result of X speaking up for the nation of blacks, he instilled the idea that African Americans should vote and become more politically active, by this motivation, he has established a new philosophy in the minds of the Black Americans, that being to seek equality.
In 1964, Malcolm X gave a speech entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet” which described how African Americans should fight for civil-rights in America. Malcolm X emphasizes the importance of voting as a solution to ending discrimination against African Americans. He addresses both the poor voting decisions and also the denial of legitimate voting rights to African Americans. Because elections had been so narrowly decided in recent elections, the Black vote is the deciding factor in elections. Whites also have prevented African Americans in the electoral process. Malcolm X says that either "the ballot or the bullet" will come next in the civil rights struggle. This meant that government must allow African Americans to legitimately vote or else violence will be their means to influence government. A second solution to the civil rights struggle was to change the discrimination of African Americans from a civil rights issue to a human rights issue. I feel that in this speech Malcolm X advocates liberal ideas. Because the government is a contract with the people and the purpose of government is to secure everyone’s individual rights, people have the right to rebel if the government violates the contract. Since African Americans were denied their civil liberties, either the ballot or the bullet should be next. Blacks will either get their rights or they will rebel against government.
On April 12, 1964, Malcolm X stepped in front of a crowd of two thousand in Detroit’s King Solomon Baptist Church. Ministers initially attempted to prevent Malcolm X from using the church to deliver the speech at the last minute, as they had already estimated the potential for controversy (“Say It Plain, Say It Loud”). Many historians deem the speech, titled “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm X’s greatest performance. Only a month after departing from the Nation of Islam and joining the mainstream Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X already recognized the vital flaw in the movement: the African American expectation of help from the white population. “The Ballot or the Bullet” aimed to point out that flaw and unite all African Americans through
The questions were formatted in a manner that provoked conscious raising though self-reflection and social analysis of Black individual’s political involvement in America. The questions that were asked to entice self-reflection were: Are you registered to vote? Do you plan on voting in this upcoming presidential election? Do you vote in local elections? and Do you know your hometowns mayor?. Each question was followed with “why or why not? ” to foster dialogue. The questions to facilitate the participants’ social analysis of Black American’s political involvement were as follows: Did you grow up in a household that encouraged political awareness and involvement? and What are your feelings about the Black Lives Matter
Until recently I did not know how important civic engagement was. I was not aware of how necessary it is that I am civically engaged in the African American community. African Americans are not typically seen as individuals, but as a collective group, which is why without civic engagement the prosperity of our race will diminish. In Dr King’s Letter from Birimington Jail, he stated, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” This quote is meant to express the idea that as a people we are connected, and whatever we do and experience, does not just affect us individually but on a communal level. This statement is a staple for the idea of civic engagement within the African American community. Also inspires me to be engage in public concerns. Civic engagement is more than voting, or reading the newspaper, it is about knowing what is going on in the community and working to fix it.
Three models are used throughout the article to describe what this trust entails and how it has been effected. The first model is psychological involvement which “...captures the effects of individual efficacy, group efficacy, political ideology, and party identification” (Mangum 4). This model relates the lack of trust African Americans have in the government to their shortage of participation in politics. If a group of people or an individual do not feel as though the government is being responsive for their needs, they will refuse to participate as they feel they will not be able to make a change. The article mentions that the party in government directly affects how African Americans feel toward the government. When the democrats have control they feel as though their rights will be better protected and improved. Whereas if the republicans are in power they feel as though these rights may be infringed upon. The second model that is mentioned is Policy Satisfaction. This model states that if a group of people are not satisfied with the policies that control government then they will be less inclined to respect them as a governing body. The main policy that affects African Americans is dealing with and ending discrimination. The third model is Descriptive Representation. This pertains to the idea of not being represented in government. The current representation in government is majorly white. This makes it difficult for African Americans to have hope for change. For example, a white congressman may be less inclined to address issues such as institutional and systematic racism than that of a black
According to the article “African American Representation In Hollywood”, the first person of color to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel in 1940 for Best Supporting Role, however it took 61 years later for another woman of color to receive an Oscar and in 2001 Halle Berry took home an Oscar for Best Actress in a Lead Role in ‘Monster 's Ball’ and the same night Denzel Washington also went home with a Best Lead Actor award in ‘Training Day’. Though many more people were nominated, less than a handful of minorities walked away with an award throughout the years. We wonder why, but according to the “2016 Hollywood Diversity Report”, studies show that “minorities accounted for 37.9 percent of the U.S Population in 2014, yet they were underrepresented by nearly 3 to 1 among lead roles for that year.” (p.10
In the 1960’s America was divided over the voting rights of African Americans. It was a time of racial and political unrest as president Lyndon B. Johnson encouraged Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act. On March 16, 1965 “We Shall Overcome” was delivered to congress. Lyndon B. Johnson was elected vice president of the United States in 1960 and became the 36th president in 1963. Throughout his speech Johnson uses a variety of strategies to persuade the nation that African Americans have the right to vote. Some of these strategies include ethos, logos, and pathos.
It’s a good thing we’re not property, or else we wouldn’t have a voice. Voting is a privilege in a world that isn’t universally setup that way. Some nations do not even allow their people to vote. The US gives its citizens that opportunity. However, it was not always that way. People, such as me, were considered property in the US from 1619 till 1869 - a very long time, so I would argue voting today as an African American is more of a privilege.
We started this Government and Politics class with reading a speech from Barack Obama during his campaign for presidency in 2008 that was a response to comments made by the minister of the church his family has attended. Barack says, “It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress had been made.” President Obama was regarding the state of the treatment of Black people in the United States. He took a stance that is present in many white people throughout the U.S., and one that I believe definitely needs to be acknowledged in the discussion over the treatment of Black Americans. But on the other hand, I truly believe that there is a problem with the treatment of Black Americans in our country, and to deny that would be a denial of various statistics. The combination of the huge amount of police discrimination towards black people (which leads to the various brutality cases) along with massive socioeconomic gap between White Americans and Black Americans are both major issues plaguing the United States that need a solution for the betterment of the nation. This is where my opinion comes in. I agree
People are born free, and everyone should have equal rights. If anyone reject others from their rights so they should protest to get their rights back. During 1960s people made some movements in order to get their rights which we call civil rights movement. In that movement African-American also made a movements in order to get voting rights act passed.There were a lot of restriction in front of them to get their voting rights. Voting rights Act of 1965 is a significant Act for African American in order to have equality in the United States. Voting rights gave a chance to African American to get their democratic rights but still today African-Americans are struggling for their voting rights.
The nominations for the Oscars this year were mainly caucasians. This is because they played
As Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights activist, once said, “ The black revolution is much more than a struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is forcing America to face all its...flaws- racism [and] poverty...It is exposing evils that are rooted deeply in… society” (Hall 1). The Civil Rights Movement embodied black Americans’ fight for personal rights and freedoms, as written in the Constitution. Although the Bill of Rights outlined America’s basic rights and freedoms, they did not apply to all people as stated in the preamble, “we the people”. For example, blacks did not have the right to live the American dream-freedom, prosperity, and justice. Instead, they lived in a social system in which they were outcasts, each labeled as poverty stricken and lowly laborers (Westover 1207).
As we know that African Americans have certain groups that are representing them and running for their rights, such as Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). However, there is no direct association or even a small group that represent for the low-income group. Although the low-income group does not face severe discrimination or redlining problem, they are actually just same as African Americans who cannot find better jobs and cannot afford better housing. It is true that some groups, such as CBC, may mention about economic issues in their legislative agenda, but most of them are more related to their own group
Francis Bacon once stated, “knowledge is power” (PsychologyToday). To know and understand how something works, gives you power over those who do not understand. If you have knowledge of something, you not only know how it works, but have the ability to then discover how to change it. In this system in the United States of America, those who know the history and patterns also have the power to change it. Having the knowledge of the history that the colored people in this country never were designed to be in power then gives me the ability to understand that the system was designed this way. Rather than fighting the system that is in place as the previous generation did during the Civil Rights Movement, it is my proposition that we change the system.