Word CIoud AnaIysis of MaIcoIm X's BaIIot or BuIIet Speech and

Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham JaiI

by Ahmed Olayinka Sule, CFA
suleaos@gmail.com
Photograph by Marion S. Trikosko
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"...when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes
"boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your
wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs.".. then you will
understand why we find it difficult to wait." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"You know, right before he (Malcolm X) was killed he came down to Selma
and said some pretty passionate things against me, and that surprised me
because after all it was my territory there. But afterwards he took my wife
aside, and said he thought he could help me more by attacking me than
praising me. He thought it would make it easier for me in the long run."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as
a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this
earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means
necessary." - MaIcoIm X
"Dr. King wants the same thing I want -- freedom!" - MaIcoIm X
"
INTRODUCTION
Whenever the history of the Civil Rights movement is discussed, two men
stand head and shoulders above other players in the movement. Martin
Luther King Jr. (King) and Malcolm X (Malcolm) have been described as the
most influential African American leaders of the twentieth century. King and
Malcolm's philosophies and insights are still relevant today even though it is
nearly fifty years since both men were killed.
Although King and Malcolm X were key players during the Civil Rights era,
they operated in separate silos and the only known meeting of these two men
occurred briefly on March 26, 1964 when the picture above was taken at
Washington during the Senate hearing on the Civil Rights Bill.
SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCES
Political commentators, the media and historians often place emphasis on the
differences between King and Malcolm X such as King's commitment to his
Christian faith and Malcolm's commitment to the slamic faith; King's
advocacy for integration and Malcolm's advocacy for separation; King's
philosophy of non-violence and Malcolm's philosophy of self defense. While
these differences appear to be fundamental, a critical look at the lives of both
men reveal that they both had similar objectives i.e the emancipation of the
black race.
King and Malcolm were both men of faith, leaders in the civil rights movement
and spokesmen for their followers on the unjust treatment melted on the
blacks. They were both assassinated at the age of thirty nine. Towards the
latter part of both men's lives, they began to converge towards a common
ground.
OBJECTIVE
n this paper, compare and contrast some aspects of Malcolm and King's
insights and viewpoints by using a Word Cloud generator to analyze the
transcripts from their most influential speeches/documents.
A Word Cloud is a visual representation of words used in a speech, book ,
seminar or presentation . t enables one to visually identify key themes or
words. n using Word Cloud to analyze King and Malcolm, investigate the
key words used in their speech/letter and compare and contrast their views on
a number of selected keywords.
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DATA and METHODOLOGY
For the purpose of this analysis, use two input sources :
for King use his Letter From a Birmingham Jail. The letter contains
around 6,800 words.
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
for Malcolm X use the transcript of his Ballot or the Bullet Speech .
The transcript of the speech contains around 6,600 words.
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/mx.html
The text from these documents were copied and inputted into a Word Cloud
generator using the following criteria:
1. Maximum number of words to show: 150
2. Minimum frequency: 4
The results, which are shown on pages 6 and 7, highlight the top keywords
used in each of these documents.
Based on the results generated from the Word generator, analyze some of
these key words to explain the similarities and differences between King and
Malcolm's viewpoints.
RationaIe for seIecting input sources
King's Birmingham Letter and the transcript of Malcolm's Ballot or Bullet
speech were selected for this analysis as they document the main philosophy
of both men at the peak of their ministries. n the Letter from a Birmingham
Jail, King detailed his understanding of a) the role of the church in the fight for
social justice b) the struggles of the African Americans and c) the concept of
the non-violent philosophy. While most people often associate King with the 'I
have a dream speech', this letter more than anything else King wrote or spoke
about critically addressed the issues of the civil rights era. According to a
number of commentators, the letter has been described as the most important
written document of the civil rights era.
What the Birmingham Letter was to King, the Ballot or the Bullet speech was
to Malcolm X. The Ballot or Bullet speech was as James Cone describes "
Malcolm's classic statement of his emerging political vision. n this speech
Malcolm spelt out his philosophy of 'Black Nationalism'. t is Malcolm's most
well known speech and it was ranked seventh in the list of top 100 American
speeches of the 20th century by one hundred and thirty seven leading
scholars of American public address.
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Background to the Birmingham Letter and the BaIIot or BuIIet Speech
The Birmingham Jail letter was written while King was imprisoned in
Birmingham in 1963 as a result of leading a protest against segregation. n
response to King's activities in Birmingham, eight white clergymen wrote an
article in the newspaper denouncing King for protesting against the injustice
faced by the blacks. They suggested that the matter should be resolved in the
court rather than on the streets. Upon reading the article, King decided to
write a response to the ministers using the margins of the newspaper and
then smuggled the newspaper out of the jail through his attorney who sent it
to King's secretary to type the contents out.
The Ballot or Bullet speech was delivered in a church in 1964 in the presence
of a number of ministers and civil rights activists. Malcolm had recently left the
Nation of slam and was going through an ideological transformation. Malcolm
called for unity among the blacks irrespective of religious or ideological
differences. He also explained the concept of black nationalism and noted that
United States faced a choice between voting or violence.
LIMITATION OF THIS STUDY
This study does not analyze all of King's and Malcolm's speeches/writing, so it
may not reflect a complete appraisal of all their thoughts. Secondly, this
analysis is based at a particular point in the political evolution of King and
Malcolm. The Birmingham letter was written at a time when King was
deepening his firm commitment to Christian/Gandhian principles while the
Ballot or Bullet speech was delivered in the last year of Malcolm's life and
shortly after he left the Nation of slam when he started to moderate his
previously held views on separation and whites.
Finally, the reader must bear in mind that one of the input sources for this
analysis is a letter addressed to white clegymen while the other input source
is a speech addressed to a black audience.
I APOLOGIZE in advance for all errors and omissions
%
Word CIoud of MaIcoIm's BaIIot or BuIIet Speech
&
Word CIoud Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham JaiI
'
AnaIysis
The three most prominent words used by Malcolm in his Ballot or Bullet
speech were bIack, white and nationaIism while King's three most used
words in his letter were Iaw, negro and church. Prominent words commonly
used by Malcolm and King in the two transcripts are action, church, Negro
and white. Malcolm also frequently used words such as poIiticaI,
government, revoIution and community; while King used words like
Birmingham, disappointed, nonvioIent, segregation, justice, injustice
and unjust in his letter.
Below is the analysis of some of the key themes featured in the transcripts:
BIack and Negro: One interesting aspect in the analysis of the two
documents is the use of the words bIack and Negro. n the sixties, the term
Negro was often used to describe African Americans, however, Malcolm
preferred to use the word black rather than Negro as he viewed the term
'Negro' derogatory. He argued that it was associated with slavery and racial
discrimination. King on the other hand used the word Negro frequently rather
than black to describe African Americans. n King's letter, he used the term
Negro thirty four times and the word black four times; on the contrary,
Malcolm used the term black in his speech fifty two times compared his use of
the term Negro which he used fifteen times.
Africa and Afro-Americans: Due to Malcolm's distaste for the term Negro,
he often used words such as Afro-American or African-American to describe
blacks. Having being brought up by parents deeply involved in the Garvey
movement, Malcolm had great pride in his African roots and saw himself as
an African rather than an American. He made it a point of duty to let African-
Americans know that they were really Africans whose ancestors were cruelly
kidnapped from Africa and taken to America. While addressing his followers in
his Message to grassroots speech, Malcolm said "..what else are you? You
are exslaves. You didn't come here on the "Mayflower." You came here on
a slave ship in chains, like a horse, or a cow, or a chicken. Malcolm
believed that African-Americans should unite with their African cousins.
He also visited a number of African countries. During a visit to the University
of badan, a university in Nigeria, the students gave him the name Omowale,
which in Yoruba language means the child has come home.
NonvioIent, Love, BuIIet and BIoody: One of the most significant
philosophical differences between King and Malcolm was with regards to the
most effective method to end segregation. While Malcolm was an advocate
for the use of 'any means necessary' to achieve freedom even if it involved
violence, King was an advocate of the non-violent approach. Malcolm
believed that since the whites used violence to enforce their segregation laws,
the blacks had a right to defend themselves if they were attacked. He argued
that advocates of non-violence were letting their followers down and he often
criticized King for his 'turn the other cheek' approach.
(
King on the other hand believed that non-violence was the most effective way
of ending segregation. Central to the King's approach to non-violence was the
principle of love as taught by Jesus. King used Christ's Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5-7) and Luke 23:34 as his foundation i.e. love your enemies and
forgive those that harm you. He argued that by showing love to the white
oppressors, the blacks would be able to appeal to their moral conscience.
Gandhi was another influence for King's acceptance of nonviolent action. n
describing his influences, King said 'Jesus furnished the spirit and motivation
for the nonviolence philosophy while Gandhi furnished the method'.
Action and Demonstrations: Both men were men of action. However, King
was more daring as he participated in demonstrations, was stoned and was
imprisoned several times. While Malcolm condemned King's nonviolence
approach as cowardice, King was of the view that "Nonviolent direct action
seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community
which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue."
Malcolm's ability to participate actively in demonstrations was constrained due
to Elijah Mohammed's insistence that members of the Nation of slam should
not get involved in demonstrations.
Church, Christian and MusIim: The church was at the centre of King's life.
He used the pulpit as his medium to propagate the social gospel. Malcolm on
the other hand was a Muslim Minister who ministered at the Temple 7
mosque in Harlem and later at the Moslem Mosque nc. Although Malcolm
was a Muslim, he was invited to a number of churches to speak.
Malcolm was very critical of Christianity, which he often said was aligned to
the cultural values of white America and Europe. He once said, "the white
man has brainwashed us black people to fasten our gaze upon a blond-
haired, blue-eyed Jesus! We're worshiping a Jesus that doesn't even look like
us. Malcolm had a good knowledge of Scriptures and often used examples of
God's judgment in biblical times to warn America that it will suffer similar fate
due to its racial discriminatory practices. Most of his religious references came
surprisingly from the Bible rather than the Koran.
Despite being a Christian minister, King was very critical of the white
American churches. He felt that the churches had failed to heed to the cries of
the oppressed blacks. n his A Knock At Midnight sermon, King said, "those
who have gone to the church to seek the bread of economic justice have
been left in the frustrating midnight of economic privation. In many instances
the church has so aligned itself with the privileged classes and so defended
the status quo that it has been unwilling to answer the knock at midnight
Disappointed: As King was an integrationist who wanted the African-
Americans to be integrated into the American mainstream; he was
disappointed by the attitudes of the white liberals. His dissatisfaction with the
white moderates stemmed from the fact that they felt that the blacks where in
a haste to get their freedom.

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Malcolm who initially advocated for separation did not believe that blacks and
whites should be integrated. As he had great mistrust for whites, he was not
surprised at the attitude of the white moderates. So while King expressed
surprise at their actions, Malcolm expressed an ' am not surprised' attitude.
Malcolm once said in a speech that "..the white liberal differs from the white
conservative only in one way: the liberal is more deceitful than the
conservative. The liberal is more hypocritical than the conservative"
Law and Unjust: The reason why the word Iaw appears predominately in
King's letter is because the eight white clergymen wrote an earlier article
expressing concern over black Christian leaders willingness to break the law.
King argued that there are two types of law namely unjust laws and just laws.
He stated that any law which 'is out of harmony with the moral law' such as
segregation law is unjust and should be disobeyed. He went further to state
that any individual who breaks an unjust law is 'in reality expressing the
highest respect for the law'.
CiviI Rights For the most part of King's ministry, he took an inward approach
towards achieving freedom for the blacks. This involved collaborating with
other civil rights activist within America irrespective of race. He also engaged
with government officials with a view to getting the Civil Rights Bill passed.
Malcolm on the other hand argued that the problem confronting the blacks in
America was beyond America's ability to solve. He argued that African-
Americans faced a violation of their human rights and not just a violation of
their civil rights. Consequently, he suggested that the black problem should be
taken outside of the jurisdiction of the American court and US Government
and brought to the attention of the United Nations as was done in the case of
South Africa and other parts of the world. Malcolm sought the cooperation of a
number of African countries to assist in presenting the plight of the African-
Americans to the UN.
Justice and Injustice: Both King and Malcolm were committed to the fight
against injustice. However, they viewed justice from two different
perspectives. During his time in the Nation of slam, Malcolm argued that God
would punish white America for the evil committed on the blacks. As a
consequence, he often took a less active approach in the fight for justice, as
he believed that a divine force would punish America for its policies. This was
expressed in a number of ways such as his comments on the assassination of
President J.F. Kennedy, when he issued his legendary 'chicken coming home
to roost' statement.
Prior to his Vietnam speech in which he spoke about God's judgment upon
America, King did not place much emphasis on the judgment of God upon
segregated America. King however highlighted the ills of injustice and made
many well-quoted statements on justice such as "Injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere and "Let us realize the arc of the moral universe
is long but it bends toward justice".
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PhiIosophy, NationaIism and RevoIution: Just as Nonviolence was King's
overriding philosophy, Black Nationalism was Malcolm's overriding
philosophy. t should not be surprising that Malcolm embraced Black
Nationalism, as his parents were both believers in Garveyism. Malcolm called
on African-Americans to embrace Black Nationalism, which he argued was an
ideology that could be adopted irrespective of ones religious affiliation.
Malcolm identified three philosophical concepts underpinning Black
Nationalism namely the political, economic and social philosophy. n short the
political, economic and social philosophy of Black Nationalism means that the
blacks should control the politics, economics and socio-cultural aspects of
their community. Shortly before his death, Malcolm had a re-think on the
concept of Black Nationalism as his experience in Africa showed him that the
term 'black' alienated other white allies on the continent.
n his Message to the Grassroots, Malcolm attempted to distinguish between
a Black revolution and a Negro revolution. He stated that revolutions such as
the Chinese, Russian and American revolutions were all bloody. He compared
these revolutions to the nonviolent movement, which he described as a Negro
Revolution. He stated that the Negro revolution was limited in scope as it only
addressed the issue of eradicating segregation rather than addressing land
reforms. He also argued that the Black revolution was worldwide in scope
covering Africa, Asia and Latin America.
King's was also a strong advocate for revolution, however his idea of
revolution differed from Malcolm's view. King supported a peaceful revolution
in which blacks revolted peacefully against 'old systems of exploitation and
oppression'. While expressing his opposition to the war in Vietnam, King
eloquently suggested that in order for America to be on the right side of a
world revolution, she must 'undergo a radical revolution of values'. According
to King, this revolution of values involved addressing the poverty and wealth
disequilibrium, the use of weapons of mass destruction and a shift from 'a
thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society'.
ConcIusion
While most people see King and Malcolm as two 'repelling magnetic poles', a
critical examination of their works reveals that they both complemented each
other. Though they had different views, they both had the same objectives i.e.
FREEDOM for their people. For one to get a better understanding of King,
one would have to get a better understanding of Malcolm and vice versa.

Ahmed Sule
July 2011
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BibIiography
CIayborne Carson, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr: Grand
Central Publishing, 2001
James H. Cone, Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare:
Orbis Books, 1991
MaIcoIm X, By Any Means Necessary (Malcolm X Speeches and Writing):
Pathfinder Press.1992
MaIcoIm X, February 1965: The Final Speeches (Malcolm X speeches &
writings): Pathfinder Press, 1992
MaIcoIm X; with Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Grove Press,
1965
Manning MarabIe, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention : Viking Adult , 2011
Martin Luther King, Jr, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr: HarperOne , 1990
Martin Luther King, Jr, Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story:
Harper ,1958
Martin Luther King, Jr, Strength to Love: Harper & Row , 1963
Martin Luther King, Jr, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or
Community?: Harper & Row , 1967
Martin Luther King, Jr, Why We Can't Wait: Harper & Row , 1963
Ahmed Sule 2011
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