In 1964, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, otherwise known as Malcolm X, delivered a speech titled, “ The Ballot or the Bullet .” He argued that the federal government’s failure to honor the inherent rights of Black people, by virtue of their humanity, has the potential for facilitating an explosion of what he called a dangerous racial powder keg, with all peoples caught in the crosshairs. el-Shabazz said that the ballot or the bullet was a choice between, “liberty and death [a la Patrick Henry], freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody.” He continued: “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… 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 anytime you find the government involved in a conspiracy to violate the citizenship or the civil rights...
