Malcolm X Argumentative Essay

“If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary.”

Malcolm X

What is Freedom? Who deserves Freedom? This is a topic of discussion many times throughout history. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln freed 4 million slaves. This was the start and should have been the end of it but it wasn't. Then in 1948, the UN General Assembly agreed on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One Would think this would be the end of all issues for blacks but it was not. Even though human rights include these 3 pivotal laws. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. That No discrimination Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion,

The mindset was it only pertained to whites and the black community was not given their basic human rights. So they had to fight for civil rights to essentially make the government honor the rights they already had. Many People fought for this and continue to do so. To this day there are still violations against civil rights, unfortunately. Malcolm did not agree with the fighting for civil rights method that other Black leaders did. He thought it needed to be taken not begged for. He specifically said “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.” Malcolm has a huge impact on the black community and their freedom. His teaching molded the black community into what it is today and it is continuing to evolve based on the teachings he gave that inspired leaders for many years to come. In an interview once he said “Anytime you beg another man to set you free you will never be free. Freedom is something you need to do for yourself and until the negro lets the white man know we are really ready and willing to pay the price necessary for freedom we will always be second-class citizens what he called 20th century slaves.” When the interviewer asked him what price he was talking about he said “ The price of freedom is death” This is something he was willing to pay for all his people. And in the end, he ultimately did pay that price with his

In a Country that had denied African American citizens the complete protection of their rights. He was also known for laying the groundwork for the Black Power Movement of the late sixties and known for being willing to do whatever it took by whatever means necessary. His advocacy of achieving “by any means necessary” put him at the opposite end of the spectrum from other non-violent approaches from other leaders. This earned him the title of radical and violent even though he was never violent. Malcolm was the inspiration for the Black Power movement, his beliefs, and teachings aligned with Malcolm's beliefs of black self-reliance, self-determination over integration. He believed African Americans needed to build their own community and should have power over their own schools, businesses, community services, and local government. He thought the route to achieving this was through self-respect and racial pride. Another Activist in 1968 Julius Lester said “ More than any other person, Malcolm X was responsible for the growing consciousness and new militancy of black people. his teachings and beliefs drove Many organizations through the years the Black Panthers are one of these. The FBI in 1969 said “The Black Panther Party, without question, represents the greatest threat to the internal security of the country. “ They were worried for their white way of