y=x 选票还是子弹(Malcolm X: The Ballot or the Bullet)

选票还是子弹(Malcolm X: The Ballot or the Bullet)  

马尔科姆·艾克斯于1925年出生在美国内布拉斯加州东部的奥马哈市，少年时期是个不学无术的街头混混，贩毒、吸毒、滥交、抢劫、杀人几乎无恶不作。终于自食恶果，被抓入监狱。入狱后，他居然从看字典开始，学习了世界历史，哲学，政治，自然科学等方面的知识，并参加了黑色穆斯林组织。出狱后，他投身黑人运动，成为声望仅次于马丁·路德·金的黑人运动领袖。

马尔科姆原是穆斯林组织“伊斯兰民族”的头领，他到处发表演讲，强调族裔对立，把什么事都往种族冲突上拉，煽动黑人对白人的仇恨。到后来他醒悟、放弃暴力、并和腐败的教主进行抗衡，不再强调仇恨；而是追求黑人和白人之间的沟通、理解、博爱，但却遭到自己原先效忠的组织的暗杀。宗教带给他强大的力量，他所表现出的永远是那么坚强、自信；他的言行举止永远显示出他的火一般的激情和永不言败的信念。他的生命充满了斗争与愤怒，但同时又涌动着热情与博爱。马尔科姆总能够用犀利的语言，针针见血地击中问题的要害。

此篇演讲发表于1964年4月3日，此前的1964年3月，马尔科姆与极端派的黑色穆斯林组织“伊斯兰民族”决裂。此演讲发表后短短10个月的1965年2月21日，在曼哈顿奥特朋舞厅的一个报告会上，“伊斯兰民族”组织派出的三名歹徒连开15枪残忍地杀害了马尔科姆。

It’ll be the the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death. And if you’re not ready to pay that price don’t use the word freedom in your vocabulary.

是选票还是子弹。是自由还是死亡。如果你还没有准备付出代价，那么就请不要说什么自由。

演讲全文：The Ballot or the Bullet / Malcolm X

Mr. Moderator
Reverend Cleage
Brother Lomax
brothers and sisters
and friends and I see some enemies. In fact
I think we’d be fooling ourselves if we had an audience this large and didn’t realize that there were some enemies present.

This afternoon we want to talk about the ballot or the bullet. The ballot or the bullet explains itself. But before we get into it
since this is the year of the ballot or the bullet
I would like to clarify some things that refer to me personally -- concerning my own personal position.

I'm still a Muslim. That is
my religion is still Islam. My religion is still Islam. I still credit Mr. Mohammed for what I know and what I am. He’s the one who opened my eyes. At present
I'm the Minister of the newly founded Muslim Mosque
Incorporated which has its offices in the Teresa Hotel
right in the heart of Harlem -- that’s the black belt in New York city. And when we realize that Adam Clayton Powell is a Christian minister
he’s the -- he heads Abyssinian Baptist Church
but at the same time
he’s more famous for his political struggling.

And Dr. King is a Christian Minister
in Atlanta – or from Atlanta Geia -- or in Atlanta
Geia
but he’s bee 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 bee famous for his fight against a segregated school system in Brooklyn. Reverend Clee
right here
is a Christian Minister
here in Detroit. 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 e to us as Christian Ministers. They e to us as fighters in some other category.

I’m a Muslim minister -- the same as they are Christian Ministers -- I’m a Muslim minister. And I don’t believe in fighting today in any one front
but on all fronts.

In fact
I’m a black Nationalist Freedom Fighter.



Islam is my religion
but I believe my religion is my personal business. It governs my personal life
my personal morals. And my religious philosophy is personal beeen me and the God in whom I believe; just as the religious philosophy of these others is beeen them and the God in whom they believe.

And this is best this way. Were we to e out here discussing religion
we’d have too many differences from the outstart and we could never get together. So today
though Islam is my religious philosophy
my political
economic
and social philosophy is Black Nationalism. You and I -- 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 beeen ourselves and our God
but when we e out here
we have a fight that’s mon to all of us against a [sic] enemy who is mon 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 munity. The -- The time -- The time when white people can e in our munity 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.

By the same token
the time when that same white man
knowing that your eyes are too far open
can send another negro into the munity and get you and me to support him so he can use him to lead us astray -- those days are long gone too.

The political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that if you and I are going to live in a Black munity -- and that’s where we’re going to live
cause as soon as you move into one of their -- soon as you move out of the Black munity into their munity
it’s mixed for a period of time
but they’re gone and you’re right there all by yourself again.

We must -- We must understand the politics of our munity and we must know what politics is supposed to produce. We must know what part politics play in our lives. And until we bee politically mature we will always be mislead
lead astray
or deceived or maneuvered into supporting someone politically who doesn’t have the good of our munity at heart.

So the political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that we will have to carry on a program
a political program
of re-education to open our peoples eyes
make us bee 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 munity who has the good of the munity of heart.

The economic philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that we should own and operate and control the economy of our munity. You would never found -- you can’t open up a black store in a white munity. White men won’t even patronize you. And he’s not wrong. He’s got sense enough to look out for himself. You the one who don’t have sense enough to look out for yourself.

The white man -- The white man is too intelligent to let someone else e and gain control of the economy of his munity. But you will let anyone e in and take control of the economy of your munity
control the housing
control the education
control the jobs
control the businesses
under the pre-text that you want to integrate. No
you outta your mind.

The political
the economic philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that we have to bee involved in a program of reeducation to educate our people into the importance of knowing that when you spend your dollar out of the munity in which you live
the munity in which you spend your money bees richer and richer; the munity out which you take your money bees poorer and poorer.

And because these Negroes
who have been mislead
misguided
are breaking their necks to take their money and spend it with The Man
The Man is being richer and richer
and you’re being poorer and poorer. And then what happens? The munity in which you live bees a slum. It bees a ghetto. The conditions bee run down. And then you have the audacity to plain about poor housing in a run-down munity. Why you run it down yourself when you take your dollar out.

And you and I are in the double-track
because not only do we lose by taking our money someplace else and spending it
when we try and spend it in our own munity we’re trapped because we haven’t had sense enough to set up stores and control the businesses of our own munity. The man who’s controlling the stores in our munity is a man who doesn’t look like we do. He’s a man who doesn’t even live in the munity. So you and I
even when we try to spend our money in the block where we live or the area where we live
we’re spending it with a man who
when the sun goes down
takes that basket full of money in another part of the town.



So we’re trapped
trapped
double-trapped
triple -rapped. Anywhere we go we find that we’re trapped. And every kind of solution that someone es up with is just another trap. But the political and economic philosophy of Black Nationalism -- the economic philosophy of Black Nationalism shows our people the importance of setting up these little stores and developing them and expanding them into larger operations. Woolworth didn’t start out big like they are today. They started out with a dime store and expanded and expanded and then expanded until today
they’re are all over the country and all over the world
and they get to some of everybody’s money.

Now this is what you and I -- General Motors is same way. They didn’t start out like they it is. It started out just a little rat race type operation. And it expanded and it expanded until today where it is right now. And you and I have to make a start and the best place to start is right in the munity where we live.

So our people not only have to be reeducated to the importance of supporting black business
but the black man himself has to be made aware of the importance of going into business. And once you and I go into business
we own and operate at least the businesses in our munity. What we will be doing is developing a situation wherein we will actually be able to create employment for the people in the munity. And once you can create some employment in the munity where you live it will eliminate the necessity of you and me having to act ignorantly and disgracefully
boycotting and picketing some practice some place else trying to beg him for a job.

Anytime you have to rely upon your enemy for a job -- you’re in bad shape. When you have -- he is your enemy. Let me tell you
you wouldn’t be in this country if some enemy hadn’t kidnapped you and brought you here.

On the other hand
some of you think you came here on the Mayflower.

So as you can see brothers and sisters
today -- this afternoon
it is not our intention to discuss religion. We’re going to fet religion. If we bring up religion
we’ll be in an argument
and the best way to keep away from arguments and differences -- as I said earlier -- put your religion at home -- in the closet.

Keep it beeen you and your God.

Because if it hasn’t done anything more for you than it has
you need to fet it anyway.

Whether you are -- Whether you are a Christian
or a Muslim
or a Nationalist
we all have the same problem. They don’t hang you because you’re a Baptist; they hang you 'cause you’re black. They don’t attack me because I’m a Muslim; they attack me 'cause I’m black. They attack all of us for the same reason; all of us catch hell from the same enemy. We’re all in the same bag
in the same boat. We suffer political oppression
economic exploitation
and social degradation -- all of them from the same enemy. The government has failed us; you can’t deny that. Anytime you live in the entieth century
1964
and you walkin' around here singing “We Shall Overe
” the government has failed us.

This is part of what’s wrong with you -- you do too much singing. Today it’s time to stop singing and start swinging. You can’t sing up on freedom
but you can swing up on some freedom. Cassius Clay can sing
but singing didn’t help him to bee the heavy-weight champion of the world -- swinging helped him bee the heavy-weight champion. This government has failed us; the government itself has failed us
and the white liberals who have been posing as our friends have failed us.

And once we see that all these other sources to which we’ve turned have failed
we stop turning to them and turn to ourselves. We need a self help program
a do-it-yourself philosophy
a do-it-right-now philosophy
a it’s-already-too- late philosophy. This is what you and I need to get with
and the only time -- the only way we are going to solve our problem is with a self-help program. Before we can get a self-help program started we have to have a self-help philosophy.

Black nationalism is a self-help philosophy. What's is so good about it? You can stay right in the church where you are and still take black nationalism as your philosophy. You can stay in any kind of civic anization that you belong to and still take black nationalism as your philosophy. You can be an atheist and still take black nationalism as your philosophy. This is a philosophy that eliminates the necessity for division and argument. 'Cause if you are black you should be thinking black
and if you are black and you not thinking black at this late date
well I’m sorry for you.

Once you change your philosophy
you change your thought pattern. Once you change your thought pattern
you change your -- your attitude. Once you change your attitude
it changes your behavior pattern and then you go on into some action. As long as you gotta sit-down philosophy
you’ll have a sit-down thought pattern
and as long as you think that old sit-down thought you’ll be in some kind of sit-down action. They’ll have you sitting in everywhere. It’s not so good to refer to what you’re going to do as a sit-in. That right there castrates you. Right there it brings you down. What -- What goes with it? What -- Think of the image of someone sitting. An old woman can sit. An old man can sit. A chump can sit. A coward can sit. Anything can sit. Well you and I been sitting long enough
and it’s time today for us to start doing some standing
and some fighting to back that up.

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. They’re not getting it by singing “We Shall Overe.” No
they’re getting it through nationalism. 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 400 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. In fact
America is more so a colonial power than they because she’s a hypocritical colonial power behind it.

What is 20th -- What -- What do you call second class citizenship? Why
that’s colonization. Second class citizenship is nothing but 20th century slavery. How you gonna tell me you’re a second class citizen. They don’t have second class citizenship in any other government on this earth. 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. No
you’re nothing but a 20th century slave.

Just as it took nationalism to move -- to remove colonialism from Asia and Africa
it’ll take black nationalism today to remove colonialism from the backs and the minds of 22 million Afro-Americans here in this country.

And 1964 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 they’re fed up. They’ve bee disenchanted. They’ve bee disillusioned. They’ve bee dissatisfied
and all of this has built up frustrations in the black munity that makes the black munity throughout America today more explosive than all of the atomic bombs the Russians can ever invent.

Whenever you got a racial powder keg sitting in your lap
you’re in more trouble than if you had an atomic powder keg sitting in your lap. When a racial powder keg goes off
it doesn’t care who it knocks out the way. Understand this
it’s dangerous.

And in 1964 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. Yes
had you marching back and forth beeen the feet of a dead man named Lincoln and another dead man named Gee Washington singing “We Shall Overe.” He made a chump out of you. He made a fool out of you. He made you think you were going somewhere and you end up going nowhere but beeen Lincoln and Washington.

So today
our people are disillusioned. They’ve bee disenchanted. They’ve bee dissatisfied
and in their frustrations they want action.

And in 1964 you’ll see this young black man
this new generation asking for the ballot or the bullet. That old Uncle Tom action is outdated. The young generation don’t want to hear anything about the odds are against us. What do we care about odds?

When this country here was first being founded there were 13 colonies. The -- The whites were colonized. They were fed up with this taxation without representation
so some of them stood up and said “liberty or death.” Though I went to a white school over here in Mason
Michigan
the white man made the mistake of letting me read his history books. He made the mistake of teaching me that Patrick Henry was a patriot
and Gee Washington
wasn’t nothing non-violent about old Pat or Gee Washington.

Liberty or death was what brought about the freedom of whites in this country from the English. They didn’t care about the odds. 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 them. This is how big it was
yet these 13 little
scrawny states
tired of taxation without representation
tired of being exploited and oppressed and degraded
told that big British Empire “liberty or death.”

And here you have 22 million Afro-American black people today catching more hell than Patrick Henry ever saw. And I’m -- I’m here to tell you in case you don’t know it -- that you got a new -- you got a new generation of black people in this country who don’t care anything whatsoever about odds. They don’t want to hear you old Uncle Tom handkerchief heads talking about the odds. No. This is a new generation. If they’re gonna draft these young black men and send them over to Korea or South Vietnam to face 800 million Chinese -- if you’re not afraid of those odds
you shouldn’t be afraid of these odds.

Why is America -- 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 e into the Negro munity. You never see them until election time. You can’t find them until election time. They’re going to e in with false promises
and as they make these false promises they're gonna feed our frustrations and this will only serve to make matters worse.

I’m no politician. I’m not even a student of politics. I’m not a Republican
nor a Democrat
nor an American
and got sense enough to know it. I’m one of the 22 million black victims of the Democrats
one of the 22 million black victims of the Republicans
and one of the 22 million black victims of Americanism. And when I speak
I don’t speak as a Democrat
or a Republican
*nor an American.* I speak as a victim of America’s so-called democracy. You and I have never seen democracy; all we’ve seen is hypocrisy. 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. We don’t see any American dream; we’ve experienced only the American nigare. We haven’t benefited from America’s democracy; we’ve only suffered from America’s hypocrisy. And the generation that’s ing up now can see it and are not afraid to say it.

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. Long as you south of the -- Long as you south of the Canadian border
you’re south.

Don’t call Governor Wallace a Dixie governor; Romney is a Dixie governor. Twenty-o million black victims of Americanism are waking up and they’re gaining a new political consciousness
being politically mature. And as they bee -- develop this political maturity
they’re able to see the recent trends in these political elections.

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 -- which means that any block
any minority that has a block of votes that stick together is in a strategic position. Either way you go
that’s who gets it. You’re in a position to determine who will go to the White House
and who will stay in the dog house. You’re the one who has that power. You can keep Johnson in Washington D.C.
or you can send him back to his Texas cotton patch. You’re the one who sent Kennedy to Washington. You’re the one who put the present Democratic Administration in Washington D.C. 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.C. only because of the Negro vote. They’ve been down there four years
and there all other legislations they wanted to bring up they 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 'cause you’re a chump
a political chump.

In Washington D.C.
in the House of Representatives there are 257 who are Democrats; only 177 are Republican. In the Senate there are 67 Democrats; only 33 are Republicans. The Party that you backed controls o-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate
and still they can’t keep their promise to you
'cause you’re a chump. Anytime you throw your weight behind the political party that controls o-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.

And what kind of alibi do they e 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 e 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; it’s controlled by 16 senatorial mittees and 20 congressional mittees. Of the 16 senatorial mittees that run the government
10 of them are in the hands of Southern segregationists. Of the 20 congressional mittees 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. I say and I say it again: You got a President who’s nothing but a Southern segregationist from the state of Texas. They’ll lynch you in Texas as quick as they’ll lynch you in Mississippi. Only in -- in Texas they lynch you with a Texas accent; in Mississippi they lynch you with a Mississippi accent.

And the first thing the cracker does when he es in power
he takes all the Negro leaders and invites them for coffee to show that he’s alright. And those Uncle Toms can’t pass up the coffee. They e away from the coffee table telling you and me that this man is alright 'cause he’s from the South
and since he’s from the South he can deal with the South. Look at the logic that they’re using. What about Eastland? He’s from the South. Make him the President. He can -- If Johnson is a good man from the '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’ve been mislead. You been had. You been took.

I was in Washington a couple weeks ago while the Senators were filibustering
and I noticed in the back of the Senate a huge map
and on this map it showed the distribution of Negroes in America
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 voting rights to Negroes in those states
and those senators from those states know that if the Negroes in those states can vote
those senators are down the drain. The Representatives of those states go 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.C. But what would happen when you expel the Dixiecrat
you’re expelling the Democrat. When you destroy the power of the Dixiecrat
you’re destroying the power -- 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 -- in the South?

These Northern Democrats are in cahoots with the Southern Democrats. They’re playing a giant con game
a political con game. You know how it goes. One of them -- one of them es to you and makes believe he's for you
and he’s in cahoots with the other one that’s not for you. Why? Because neither one of them is for you
but they got to make you go with one of them or the other. So this is a con game. And this is what they’ve been doing with you and me all these years.

First thing Johnson got off the plane when he bee President
he asked “Where’s Dicky?” You know who “Dicky” is? Dicky is old Southern cracker Richard -- Richard Russell. Look here
yes. Lyndon B. Johnson’s best friend is the one who is the 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? How can Johnson be his friend
and your friend too? No
that man is too tricky. Especially if his friend is still old Dicky.

Whenever the Negroes keep the Democrats in power
they’re keeping the Dixiecrats in power. Is this true? A vote for a Democrat is nothing but a vote for a Dixiecrat. I know you don’t like me saying that
but I
I’m not the kind of person who e 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 -- don't do it. They don’t do it that way. They got a think that they call gerrymandering. They -- They maneuver you out of power. Even though you vote
they fix it so you’re voting for nobody; they’ve got you going and ing. 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. Now you take your choice. 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 dog house.

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. America today finds herself in a unique situation. Historically
revolutions are bloody. Oh
yes
they are. They haven’t never had a blood-less revolution
or a non-violent revolution. That don’t happen even in Hollywood. 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 a position actually to bee involved in a blood-less revolution. The Russian revolution was bloody
Chinese revolution was bloody
French revolution was bloody
Cuban revolution was bloody
and there was nothing more bloody then the American Revolution. But today this country can bee 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
'cause if he don’t see it you’re finished. If you don’t see it you’re going to be ing -- you’re going to bee involved in some action in which you don’t have a chance. And we don’t care anything about your atomic bomb; it's -- it’s useless because other countries have atomic bombs. When o 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’re gonna -- If you want some action
you gotta e on down to Earth. And there's more black people on Earth than there are white people on Earth.

I only got a couple more minutes. The white man can never win another war on the ground. His days of war
victory
his reign -- his days of ground victory are over. Can I prove it? Yes. 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. Why? 'Cause the day that he can win on the ground has passed.

Up in French Indo-China those little peasants
rice growers took on the might of the French army and ran all the Frenchmen -- you remember Dien Bien Phu. No.

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 -- and a -- and a white man can’t fight a guerilla warfare. Guerilla action takes heart
takes nerve
and he doesn’t have that. He’s brave when he’s got tanks. 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 pany along with him
but you take that little man from Africa and Asia
turn him loose in the woods with a blade
with a blade -- that’s all he needs
all he needs is a blade – and when the sun es down -- goes down
goes down and it’s dark
it’s even-steven.

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
it’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 any time you find the government involved in a conspiracy to violate the citizenship or the civil rights of a people
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 bee 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're -- As long as you're fighting 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.N. When the government of Portugal began to trample upon the -- the rights of our brothers and sisters in Angola
it was taken before the U.N. Why even the white man took the Hungarian question to the U.N. And just this week Chief Justice Goldberg was crying over 3 million Jews in Russia about their human rights
charging Russia with violating the U.N. 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 22 million Afro-Americans whose choices are being bound
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 it before the United Nations. So our next move is to take the entire civil rights struggle problems into the United Nations
and let the world see that Uncle Sam is guilty of violating the human rights of 22 million Afro-Americans....

[short audio ent uncertain]

[Uncle Sam...] and still has the audacity or the nerve to stand up and represent himself as the leader of the free world. Not only is he a crook
he’s a hypocrite. Here he is standing up in front of other people
Uncle Sam
with the blood of your and mine mothers and fathers on his hands
with the blood dripping down his jaws like a bloody-jawed wolf
and still got the nerve to point his finger at other countries. You can’t even get civil rights legislation. And this man has got the nerve to stand up and talk about South Africa
or talk about Nazi Germany
or talk about Deutschland. Why? No more days like those.

So
I say in my conclusion the only way we're going to solve it – we’ve got to unite in unity and harmony
and black nationalism is the key. How we gonna overe the tendency to be at each others throats that always exists in our neighborhoods? And the reason this tendency exists
the strategy of the white man has always been divide and conquer. He keeps us divided in order to conquer us. He tells you I’m for separation and you for integration to keep us fighting with each other. No
I’m not for separation and you’re not for integration. What you and I is for is freedom. Only you think that integration would get you freedom
I think separation would get me freedom. We both got the same objective
we just got different ways of getting at it.

So I studied this man
Billy Graham
who preaches white nationalism
that’s what he preaches. I say that’s what he preaches. The whole church structure in this country is white nationalism. You go inside a white church that’s what they preaching is white nationalism. They got Jesus white
Mary white
God white
everybody white -- that’s white nationalism. So what he does -- the way he -- the way he -- the way he circumvents the -- the jealousy and envy that he ordinarily would incur among the heads of the church
wherever he go into an area where the church already is you going into trouble
'cause they got that thing what you call it -- syndicated
they got a syndicate -- just like the rest of the Racketeers have. I’m going to say what’s on my mind 'cause the churches are
the preachers already proved to you that they got a syndicate.

And when you're out in the rackets
whenever you're getting in another man’s territory
you know
they gang up on you. And that’s the same way with you -- you ran into the same thing. So how Billy Graham gets around that
instead of going into somebody else’s territory
like he going to start up a new church
he don't -- he doesn’t try to start a church. He just goes in preaching Christ. And he says everybody who believe in Him
you go wherever -- you go wherever you find him. So this helps all the churches and since it helps all the churches they don’t mind fight him.

Well
we gonna do the same thing
only our gospel s black nationalism; his gospel is white nationalism; our gospel is black nationalism. And the gospel of black nationalism
as I told you
means you should control you own
the politics of your munity
the economy of your munity
and all of the society in which you live should be under your control. And once you feel that this philosophy will solve your problem
go join any church where that’s preached. Don’t join a church where white nationalism is preached. Now you can go to a Negro church and be exposed to white nationalism 'cause you are when you walk in a Negro church and a white Mary and some white angels -- that Negro church is preaching white nationalism. But when you go to a church and you see the pastor of that church with a philosophy and a program that’s designed to bring black people together and elevate black people -- join that church. Join that church. If you see where the NAACP is preaching and practicing that which is designed to make black nationalism materialize
join the NAACP. Join any kind of anization
civic
religious
fraternal
political
or otherwise that’s based on lifting the black man up and making him master of his own munity.

It’ll be -- It’ll be the -- the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death. And if you’re not ready to pay that price don’t use the word freedom in your vocabulary.

One more thing: I was on a program in Illinois recently with Senator Paul Douglas
a so-called liberal
so-called Democrat
so-called white man
at which time he told me that our African brothers were not interested in us in Africa. He said the Africans are not interested in the American Negro. I knew he was lying
but during the next o or three weeks it’s my intention and plan to make a tour of our African homeland. And I hope that when I e back
I’ll be able to e back and let you know how our African brothers and sisters feel toward us. And I know before I go there that they love us. We’re one; we’re the same; the same man who has colonized them all these years
colonized you and me too all these years. And all we have to do now is wake up and work in unity and harmony and the battle will be over.

I want to thank the Freedom Now Party and the goal. I want to thank Milton and Richard Henley for inviting me here this afternoon
and also Reverend Cleage. And I want them to know that anything that I can ever do
at any time
to work with anybody in any kind of program that is sincerely designed to eliminate the political
the economic
and the social evils that confront all of our people
in Detroit and elsewhere
all they got to do is give me a telephone call and I’ll be on the next jet right on into the city.