Hip-hop

On February 21, 2006, I reflected on the 42nd anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X. Hot that in Black History Month – I couldn’t find any mentions of this date anywhere in the media or web…so I sat in my room, by myself, and listened to “The Ballot or the Bullet” in its entirety on YouTube.

The speech is incredible. Malcolm X oozes charisma – achieved through charm, humor, confidence, and strength. When you really start to think what he is talking about – and detach from the emotional response he induces – you realize that here, in this speech, the speaker has the crowd on its feet cheering for bloody revolution without even knowing it. As amazing and powerful as anything.