Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” and Its Literary Influence on the Black Arts Movement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1511.29Keywords:
Malcolm X, literature, rhetoric, oratory, Black Arts MovementAbstract
This paper explores Malcolm X’s role as a rhetorician and his influence on the literature of Black Arts Movement. The paper’s aim is to emphasize his exceptional oratory skills. Malcolm X’s speeches, known for their persuasive nature, played a role in galvanizing African American communities and promoting the ideas of self-determination central to the literature of the Black Arts Movement. By focusing on one of his speeches, “The Ballot or the Bullet”, this paper examines the rhetorical strategies that made Malcolm X an influential figure. It demonstrates how his oratory contributed to the emergence of the Black Arts Movement and how his ideas shaped its intellectual and cultural foundations. In sum, the paper argues that Malcolm X’s rhetorical legacy is essential for understanding the development of the Black Arts Movement and its literature.
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