In the speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm X recognizes that the strength of his movement rests in his ability to educate the audience about political injustice. The speaker unifies his followers under a common animosity towards the government, which encourages them to prioritize black pride over patriotism. Malcolm X advocates for action by destroying the audience’s hope that their unfair treatment will ever improve under the white man’s power alone.

James Baldwin’s personal story, “Notes of a Native Son,” serves as a justification for the speaker’s basis that temper about a group creates beautiful pride for the opposition. Baldwin concludes that his father adopted a strict black pride to cope with brutal racism. The author explains in the broader terms of human nature that “discovering the weight of white people in the world is the cause of rigidness”. Baldwin’s piece admires the individuals who suffered humiliation and come out of it with strong values.

Malcolm X works to evoke the sensitivity out of the individuals who outwardly express themselves as rigid. Malcolm X offers a healthy outlet for those damaged from racism, so that they won’t end up similar to Baldwin’s father. Malcolm X encourages them to be an active member of the movement, or else they will end up with a unfixable harsh personality that cannot be healed. Essentially, Malcolm X is trying to prevent the white men from making blacks accept themselves as insensitive animals who can’t contribute to society.