Movie screening and faculty discussion mark birthday of Malcolm X

To help mark the late Malcolm X’s birthday, Lake Tahoe Community College is hosting a screening of his most famous speech followed by a faculty panel discussion on Tuesday, May 19 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Board/Aspen Room inside the library building.

This is a free event, and the entire community is welcome and encouraged to participate.

The event begins with a screening of “The Ballot or the Bullet,” one of Malcolm X’s most famous speeches, delivered at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio in 1964. In the speech, the civil rights leader discusses how participating in elections through the act of voting provides a pathway for addressing inequality in America. At the same time, he also cautions that if the government continues to stand in the way of equal rights, then other avenues of addressing inequality must be pursued. He calls for African Americans to “become more politically mature, and realize what the ballot is for; what we're supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we do't cast a ballot, it's going to end up in a situation where we're going to have to cast a bullet. It's either a ballot or a bullet.”

After the screening, three LTCC faculty members will host a discussion about the speech and its relevance to today, 50 years after Malcolm X’s assassination. LTCC sociology instructors Dr. Scott Lukas and Dr. Yasmin Sayyed will be joined by Political Science and Ethnic Studies instructor Dr. Albert Ponce in the discussion. Audience members will have a chance to ask questions and share comments. This event is sponsored by the LTCC Roberta L. Mason Library.