Introduction
In the 1950s and 1960s both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr were very prominent and influential men. These men were both the voices of Black America at the time, but they had different messages to send. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr had opposing philosophies on topics such as integration, religion, and defense tactics; however, they still shared some similarities.
Background Malcolm X was born in Omaha on May 19, 1925 as Malcolm Little to Reverend Earl Little and Louise Little. Malcolm’s father was a Baptist minister and a committed organizer for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) . Garvey believed that the black race should remain pure and return to the homeland (Africa) . Malcolm’s father’s involvement led to two of their houses being burned down by Ku Klux Klan members. At age six, Malcolm’s father was killed by Ku Klux Klan members. After, his father’s death his mother was soon pronounced paranoid and the kids were split up . At age twenty, Malcolm began serving six and a half years in prison for larceny. In prison, he read history, philosophy, religion, about the life of Gandhi, and Nat Turner. He also read the works of W.E.B. DuBois, Shakespeare, and Socrates. It was in prison that he found out about Islam through his brother who became a member of the Nation of Islam. Once released Malcolm joined the nation of Islam and became Malcolm X . Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam, took Malcolm under his wing. Soon, Malcolm worked to expand the black Islamic community and even became of the most important temple on the east coast, Temple No. 7 in Harlem . Later on, Malcolm had become very expressive about civil rights during his speeches and they were not often centered around religion. This angered Elijah Muhammad and caused them to drift. Malcolm soon left the Nation of Islam and created his own religious organization called the Muslim Mosque Inc. for his followers. This caused the Nation of Islam to become even more upset with Malcolm. Later more conflicts arose between the two groups. On February 21, 1965 Malcolm was assassinated by three Black Muslims before delivering a speech in Harlem .
Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael Luther
Despite the many differences, both men had a common starting point, institutionalised discrimination over the black people of America, as well as a common goal: the end of this discrimination. The similarity has been in fact recognised by both. For instance, as Malcolm X has stated, “The goal has always been the same, with the approaches to it as different as mine and Dr. Martin Luther King’s.” Lewis V. Baldwin actually argues that King and X had even more things in common. As he puts it, “despite their differences religiously, philosophically, politically and organisationally Malcolm and King, both ministers, were drawn together in dialect of social activism by the nourishment they shared in the Black Folk tradition, by their common devotion to the liberation of the press, by the ideas and convictions they share, by the personal admiration and respect they had for each other, and by the impelling moral, spiritual and intellectual power they received from one another.” This may mean that the image of these two people as “ideological nemeses and antagonists on all important questions involving race in America,” may be very simplistic. Yet, there were certainly many important differences in their outlook and ideas in order to justify their representation as polar
Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X were very huge leading figures during the Civil Rights movement. Though they had many differences, they had some similarities. Both men’s fathers were preachers and both men were religious preachers themselves. Dr. King and Malcolm X were around the same age and they were both assassinated. Coincidentally, both men had the same number of children and eventually they had the same ideologies for the Civil Rights Movement. However, Dr. King and Malcolm X were different in ways such as Malcolm X wanted black supremacy and Dr. King wanted equality, Malcolm X saw violence as an option to achieve his goals if peace did not work and Dr. King believed in complete nonviolence, and Malcolm X
They had different views but they had a few similarities. One of those being the fact that they both were assassinated because they wanted equal rights. Proving that no matter what happens they will not let go of what's correct. Another similarity is how they both had the same objective, everyone to be treated equally no matter what they look like. They both worked hard and stayed strong even after being punished for speaking their truth. In "Malcom X: By Any Means Necessary" ,a biography about Malcom X, the author says,"And he was a worker. He organized and preached." And in "Encounter with Martin Luther King
Although one might not naturally make an immediate connection between the two, Malcolm X and Fredrick Douglass have many similarities in regard to their journey to mental and physical freedom. Both men knew the meaning of their own lives and fought for the ability to know more. To these intelligent and capable men, knowledge equaled freedom. However, their methods of acquiring said knowledge differed based in circumstance.
It is no secret that the struggles of African Americans for the past centuries had sparked efforts to bring to the fore Civil Rights Movement. In succinct, the Civil Rights Movement was the multitude of efforts and movements that aimed to put a halt on racial discrimination against African Americans. With the implementation of Jim Crow Laws that fundamentally legalized manifestations of racial discrimination and segregation, the accumulation of social injustices against materialized Civil Rights Movement. Most notably, the death of Emmett Till and the imprisonment of Rosa Parks had made it even more glaring how there should be a greater push for greater integration
King and X had a lot of things in common, but one most essential was the goal of achieving the racial justice in the United States that exists for hundred of years. They spread their views through assertive, motivational, determined powerful speeches. As an inspirational speaker, King travelled different places mostly in the South, giving speeches that motivated both blacks and whites to follow his integrational views. Likewise, Malcolm X for much of the time that he spent as an Islamic minister, he lectured about separatism between blacks and whites in North to achieve the racial justice in the United States. Though different in their speaking styles and definition of equality, one cannot deny that both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. were two of the most influential and powerful civil rights activists of the 20th century. Both Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X were remarkable leaders with two very different approaches that simultaneously fought for the common goal, which was the racial justice in the United States.
It's hard to think that only fifty seven years ago our nation was severely divided by color, and race. At the time African Americans were looked upon as an inferior race to the caucasians, and when the lesser race began to fight back rage took hold of American hearts. During this trying time there were two notable leaders of the black minority, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. Although they both sought the same thing for their people, equality, they each had their own way of going about obtaining it. King was a peaceful man, and was a strong believer in the power of peaceful actions of protest. While on the other hand, Malcolm was a man of action and these actions weren't always peaceful. After reading the two passages above it is easy to see that Malcolm X's plan of action is the best option for the African American people.
Each of these two leaders had different views on how to go about gaining freedom. While King believed a peaceful means would allow the blacks to achieve equality with the white Americans, Malcolm X took a more pessimistic approach. He believed achieving equality was nearly impossible and preached a more separatist doctrine. Each man's beliefs were formed in their youth.
Bang! A bullet traveled through his head, beat up and left to rot in the Mississippi River; the murder of Emmett Till sparked a revolution. The Civil Rights Movement, emerged in 1954 and ended in 1968, was a movement that attempted and successfully addressed discrimination against people, specifically African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are two of the many leaders that led the Civil rights movement, however they both has different approaches to dealing with the current issue. King’s belief was inspired by Gandhi’s philosophy, which is to protest by nonviolence. On the other hand, Malcolm X believes that his people should not endure the abuse, but rather retaliate with force if necessary. Throughout history, methods used
Civil Rights movement focuses on the achievement of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, both had different ideas; Martin Luther King used non-violence protest he used the media to focus on the wrong doings of the white society on African Americans. He believed that exposing the outrages of segregation would force the government to want to change. Malcolm X believe in fighting back when attack and felt that the black community should start their own system instead of waiting for the white society to change theirs. James Baldwin can be compare to both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X because his views were a mix of both men, But I felt that he can be compare to Malcolm X the most.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were both known as civil right leaders in the 1960’s. Both men had a different perspective on civil rights and how civil rights should be won. Both men also had strong beliefs on religious and followed on through that path in different ways. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had several differences and several comparisons and had a big impact for the people of The United States.
Malcolm X was born on May 19th, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He had 8 siblings, his mother a "stay at home" mom, and his father was a baptist and a large supporter of black nationalism. His father's support of black nationalism led to his family constantly being targeted by white supremacist groups. This led to his fathers death in 1931. He and his best friend moved to Boston, where they were convicted of burglary and sentenced to 7 years in prison. After getting out he was convinced by a friend to take interest in he Muslim religion, and so he did. The NOI (Nation of Islam) gave Malcolm access to newspaper columns and articles allowing him to spread his believes. After leaving NOI and denouncing them, Malcolm was marked for assassination, and
Who knew the two most powerful African Americans that influence countless of people in history and wrote their one of many most inspirational work while locked up in jail? Martin Luther King Jr. was incarcerated because the city officials issued a court injunction to prohibit the civil rights marches in Birmingham. Whereas, Malcolm x was arrested for burglary while trying to pick up a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. The fight for civil right was taken in the 1960's, where racism was a problem. Whites discriminated blacks because they thought they weren't equal to them. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X come in, they are well known African Americans leaders who fought for what they believed, in many
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were leaders with many followers during the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. They were both ministers that had many people already following them and their number of followers only grew with their ideas and beliefs. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X had many great ideas on how America should be.While they both led their followers down the path to civil rights they both met their end by the hands of the people who did not want them to continue to make a difference the way they were for African Americans in America. Although Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X both made real changes regarding civil rights, they did not always agree on how to go about seeking out a
Despite both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. actively fighting for freedom and equality during the Civil Rights Movement, both men are not remembered equally. Undeniably, their approaches were different which resulted in conflicting ideals and different outcomes. These differences are highlighted through the comparison of Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to Malcolm X’s speech of “The Ballot or the Bullet”. Both Malcolm X and Dr.King advocated for change regarding the treatment of the black community, but their perceptions of the timeline for change varied. Malcolm X was prepared to abandon the current system and separate the black community entirely to achieve immediate equality even if this called for violence. Whereas Dr. King advocated for all groups to think and act differently for total equality and true freedom. Ultimately, Dr. King understood that for complete change it might be a longer process, but he was willing to be respectful and encourage this movement peacefully.