Throughout the nation in the 1960s, racism was a major issue and widespread. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X shared similar ideologies during the civil rights movement in the 1960’s;however, they had very different viewpoints on how civils rights should be promoted. In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he described his dreams in where blacks and whites could share a society to live in peace and friendship. On the other hand, Malcolm X’s “God’s Judgement” speech, he preached the teachings of Islam and told about the downfall of “White America” , which would soon be destroyed because of the sins it has committed to African Americans. Though both men discussed the same issues, their methods of achievement and ideas about equal opportunity differed. …show more content…
and Malcolm X was their views on racial segregation. For example, King was for ending all forms of segregation. He said that “ One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination”.(I Have a Dream). He persuaded many blacks and whites to remove racial discrimination from everywhere in the country. King said that “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice”(“I Have a Dream). He believed that his people have waited long enough and have to fight against racial discrimination. These were King’s ideas of working together as a race.While Malcolm X believed that a society should remain separated between blacks and whites for the sake of his own people. According to Malcolm X, “The only permanent solution to America’s problem is the complete separation of these twenty-two million ex-slaves from our white slave master, and return of these ex-slaves to our own land”(God’s Judgement). He felt that blacks should be more concerned about themselves rather than helping the whites. As a result, there would no longer be racial inequality. Blacks would create a society of their own rather to try to fit in with the dominant white society. His speech motivated many African Americans to demand their rights and urged them to use some violence to accomplish their …show more content…
and Malcolm X was their effort and determination to improve the lives of African American’s. For example, the effort of King changed society and the way Blacks were allowed to live their lives. King said “We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote”(I Have a Dream). He helped not only African Americans, but all people to secure their right to vote and ensured that they had a voice in the civil rights movement. Also, no longer did blacks have to ride in the back seats of buses. King’s boycotts gathered so much attention to the cause that it had made bus companies from the South reexamine their laws and eventually change them. The change in law helped so that blacks would not be treated separately from whites. King had achieved an appropriate way of gaining respect of the white people through protest and changing laws so that blacks are treated equally. Though not all of the Blacks problems were solved, King said that “With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to go to jail together, and to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”(I Have a Dream). His vision greatly impacted many people, especially African Americans and inspired them to remove racial injustice from everywhere in the world. Yet, Malcolm X had a different approach in helping to better the lives of African
Malcolm X always believed that in order to conquer their rightful place in society, the There are many differences between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X believed that only through force could blacks conquer their rightful place in society. He blamed many of the conditions that blacks in the United States lived in on the whites. Martin Luther King appeared calm and idealistic. Martin insisted blacks to earn their just place in society by attaining a sense of worth, high ethical standards, diligence and leadership, using non-violence as their impartial weapon. He addressed that in God’s sight, people of all races are equals and there is no such thing as a superior or inferior
Many things allowed Malcolm X to become the great leader that he was but several things also came out of what Malcolm X and other Civil Rights activists had laid out for.
Malcolm X: His very name is a stab to the beliefs of the white supremacists of his time"X" symbolizing "the rejection of slave-names' and the absence of an inherited African name to take its place." Similarly, in his speech "The Ballot or the Bullet", Malcolm X denounces the actions of the white population, without any attempts to appeal to them; his approach to the civil rights issue is in complete opposition to the tactics of other civil rights leaders of his time, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Rather than trying to integrate the black community into the white, he focuses on the complete separation of them: he doesn't want the blacks to integrate into the white hotels, he wants blacks to own the hotels. He believed that the black population had to break the psychological, cultural, economic, and political dependency on their oppressors. By using tactical phrasing of his sentences that connects to his audience emotionally, Malcolm X attacks the tendency of African-Americans to identify with White America, and insists they identify instead with Africans, their ancestors; thus, he promotes his purpose: to instill a feeling of self-respect and self-help in his fellow African-Americans, which in turn is the stepping stone to the liberation of the Black people.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the revolution there was a young man known Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The revolution in which he was leading was a revolution rather different than the one of Malcolm X. Dr. King’s revolution was one in which all blacks and all whites could work together. He spoke of this in his infamous speech I Have A Dream. Though the two leaders were rather different, they fed off each other’s roles, which in turn provided possibly the strongest leadership since the Harlem Renaissance, until the death of Malcolm X.
In the letter, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr, and the speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X, the authors discuss their very different viewpoints on what form of freedom would it take to accomplished their goal. While King believes that peaceful approaches would allow the black community to achieve equality with the white Americans, Malcolm X thinks achieving equality with white Americans is nearly impossible; therefore, he preaches a separatist doctrine. Although King and X are both fighting for the black community’s rights and their integration into the nation’s system, their approaches differ significantly. King and X differ in three main areas: their ultimate goals, the strategies to accomplish those goals, and their use of rhetoric.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. African Americans are fortunate to have leaders who have fought for a difference in Black America. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X are two powerful men in particular who brought hope to blacks in the United States. Both preached the same message about Blacks having power and strength in the midst of all the hatred that surrounded them. Even though they shared the same dream of equality for their people, the tactics they implied to make these dreams a reality were very different. The background, environment and philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were largely responsible for the distinctly varying responses to American racism.
Until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his life’s work was dedicated to the nonviolent actions of blacks to gain the freedoms they were promised in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. He believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1963). These injustices had become so burdensome to blacks that they were “plunged into an abyss of despair” (King, 1963). The nonviolent actions of the sit-ins, boycotts, and marches were so the “individual could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths…to help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism” and ultimately lead to “inevitably opening the door to negotiation” (King, 1963). Not only was King’s approach effective with the older black generation, it was also successful with white people. They did not feel threatened when approached by King. White people gained a sense of empathy towards the plight of black freedom as King’s promise of nonviolence did not threaten their livelihood. Malcolm X viewed the world similarly to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., however; his beliefs to changing the status quo were slightly different from his political counterpart. Malcolm X realized that “anger could blind human vision” (X, 1965). In realizing this, X knew that in order to achieve racial freedom blacks had to “forget hypocritical politics and propaganda” (X, 1965). While Malcolm X was more so an advocate for violent forces against white people than King, X merely used force when it became necessary for defense. According to X, “I don’t go for non-violence if it also means a delayed solution. I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to American black man’s problem” (X, 1965). However, this le...
...artin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X approach the same problem differently. They both use pathos, a central metaphor, and give a warning. However, Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos to create a welcoming and patriotic feeling whereas Malcolm X uses fear. Martin Luther King Jr. uses a check, used on a daily basis, as the object of his central metaphor; Malcolm X uses a powder keg, a very damaging and dangerous object, as the object of his central metaphor. Lastly, Martin Luther King Jr. warns his audience that the people of color will revolt passively. On the other hand, Malcolm X warns his audience that the people of color will revolt violently with bloodshed. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both achieve their goal. After reading both speeches, Malcolm X seems, in my opinion, to have made a greater impact on the white community because fear is stronger than joy.
Both Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X practiced boycotting during the time of racial economic slavery. Whether it was towards the good side or the bad side of the railroad tracks, they both practiced boycotting with a group of followers. This is shown from this quote from Dr. King, "In the past six months simply by refusing to purchase the products from companies which do not hire Negroes in meaningful numbers and in all job categories...", he states that his form of boycotting is to not purchase any products from any company/manufacturer that did not support the hiring of all negroes in an equal amount or if they didn't hire negroes for all job categories. In this quote Malcolm X states, "…(W)e haven't learned the importance of owning and operating businesses …so even when we try and spend our money in the neighborhood where we live, we're spending it with someone who puts it in a basket and takes it out as soon as the sun goes down.", which means that the negro community needs to basically boycott against the white man to prosper themselves, economically. While Malcolm X's way to boycott was against all white men, Dr. King's way to boycott was against all white men who did not support the hiring of negroes and other
The 20th century was a definitive time period for the Black civil rights movement. An era where the status quo was blatant hatred and oppression of African Americans, a time when a black son would watch his father suffer the indignity of being called a “boy” by a young white kid and say nothing in reply but “yes sir”. Where a Black person can be whipped or lynched for anything as little as not getting off the sidewalk when approaching a white person, for looking into their eyes, or worse, “for committing the unpardonable crime of attempting to vote.” In the midst of the racial crises and fight for social equality were Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who despite their difference in philosophies were “icons of social justice movement both in the United States and around the world” .
The phrase ‘Coming of Age’ refers to the process of growing up or entering into adulthood. In these three coming of age tales of Barack Obama, Malcolm X and James Baldwin they all share a component in their lives with each other as they tell their tales of their dark pasts. Baldwin’s story is about how he becomes aware of himself and who he is as a person. Baldwin also shares a component with Obama because they both suffered from psychological loss of innocence of the protagonist between the ages of 10 to 20. The components Malcolm X has are both acquiring knowledge and he was accepting of the complexities and ‘greyness’ of the world.
In order to better understand why King and X took the course of action each took, one must take into account a little bit of their background. Martin Luther King jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia into a middle-class family. The church was his source of leadership development and it helped provide him with moral values. Home and church were the most important influences in the early life of King. In both contexts, he was introduced to the integrationist values of protest, accommodations, self-help and optimism as they were related to the religious themes of justice, love and hope. He was introduced to the value of education as a potent way of helping him assert his self-worth to become a church and community leader and to fight racism in the larger society. “King’s basis for his campaign of nonviolence originated in the highest type of love - love for people who hate you. King preached that the combination of agape (spiritual love) with nonviolent action would elicit change”(Walton 78).
King traveled the country making speeches and inspiring people to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He organized non-violent student sit-ins and fought for the rights of the black population. In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All the points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice.
In history we know that no two men are alike but, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were phenomenal people and leaders. Both had visualized some type of change in the future, yet were not literally able to see it. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X set out to bring a sense of confidence to blacks all over the United States. Their main purpose was to help instill black’s power and strength so that they could overcome racial disparity and prejudice that surrounded them, but both of them had very unique and distinct different ways of promoting their message. Martin was more geared and focused on equality and wellness of the world as a whole, a Malcolm X’s personal interpretation of the world was very well blinded by anger, bitterness, and the desire to get revenge at the expense of the world that he thought treated him unfairly.
Malcolm X will address the problem of all people. In his speech he said, “... submerge our differences and realize it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem...a problem that will make you catch hell whether your a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalism... all of us have suffered...political oppression...economic exploitation...social degradation at the hands of the white man.” Malcolm X believes that all minorities share a common problem- oppression. Malcolm X states that this problem has made us suffer tremendously in the country. The white man as he explains, has limited minorities of their social mobility and rights. For example, Jim Crow Laws prevent rights for us and restrict us from growth [social mobility]. We are viewed as and treated as 2nd class citizens. Malcolm X as a leader will prove them