Precious Ndukwe
Dr. Andreas Woods
Afro American Studies
May 1, 2016
Final Essay
3. Malcolm X argues that the way black people are going about the “civil rights struggle” is
not enough in The Ballot or the Bullet. He suggests that it be given an interpretation that is more
general and updated. He declares that for those people whose philosophy is “black nationalism”,
the only path in which they can take to get involved in the civil-rights struggle is to give it an
updated translation and that the old translation expelled blacks and kept them out. A new
interpretation to the civil-rights struggle will allow blacks to now be a part of it.. Malcolm X also
discusses the need for new allies and partners that come from around the whole world.
The issue is when you decide to name the civil rights struggle a “civil rights struggle”,
you stifle the amount of assistance you can receive. Since the problem is civil rights, it’s under
the rule of Uncle Tom, or in other words, the same government of America which is trying to
keep you oppressed. No one from other countries can speak on your behalf as long as your
struggle remains a civil-rights struggle because civil rights is a domestic affair and not
international. “All of our African brothers and our Asian brothers and our Latin-American
brothers cannot open their mouths and interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States. And
as long as it’s civil rights, this comes under the jurisdiction of Uncle Sam”, however, it’s a
different story when you expand the civil rights struggle to a worldly or international level. The
United Nations has what’s known as the charter of human rights; a committee that specifically
deals with human rights. Malcolm X proposed that the reason why all of the violence and crimes
that have been done in Africa, Hungary, Asia, and Latin America are brought to the UN for
investigation, but the Negro problem is never brought before the UN, is part of the conspiracy.
The “white man”, as he calls them, who is supposed to be your friend, never informs you about
human rights. “They keep you wrapped up in civil rights. And you spend so much time barking
up the civil-rights tree, you don’t even know there’s a human-rights tree on the same floor.”
When you inflate the civil-rights struggle to the higher level of human rights, you can
then take your case to the UN and lay it before the General Assembly. Civil rights keeps you
under the authority of the oppressors in your country. Human rights is not something you earn in
life. It is something you were born with. Human rights are universal and are supposed to be
recognized by all nations of this earth. And any time anyone violates your human rights, you
should be able take them to the world court.
