Malcolm X’s Analysis of Citizenship & Rights For Black Americans

Abstract

In this study, I conducted a discourse analysis of Malcolm X’s descriptions and usage of citizenship, membership, & related concepts within his speeches to better understand his usage of these highly contested terms, specifically how it compares to the usage by other scholars and Black American civil rights activists in the 1960s. This study will be conducted by analyzing how many times he used these words in various speeches, interviews, and debates and how his usage and context of these terms evolved as his political philosophy evolved from Nation of Islam orthodoxy to Pan-African socialism.

Keywords: Malcolm X, citizenship, human rights, rhetoric, civil rights, African American