Differences Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

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Violence Is Never the Answer In the 1960s, the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the United States was at its peak. At the forefront of this crusade were two inspiring and insightful men, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. Although their philosophies were different, both had the same aspiration, to achieve social and racial justice by initiating change in the American people throughout the nation. Dr. King, a prominent civil rights leader, based his philosophy of change through nonviolence on the beliefs and tactics of Mahatma Gandhi. The intention of this was to allow violent oppressors to reveal to themselves and everyone around the world the moral and legal corruption that is racial injustice and inequality. During the
On the other hand, Malcolm X was willing to do whatever necessary in order to attain equality and justice for African-Americans. Malcolm X’s philosophy was to fight fire with fire as it was worth the long term goal of freedom. Appreciating the egalitarian nature of Islam, Malcolm X converted and established his ideologies using the religion as a guide. Whether the method was violence or nonviolence, Malcolm X was all for it. Believing integration would ultimately prevent blacks from having equal rights and economic strength, Malcolm X felt that African-Americans should solely be helping each other and keeping to themselves. Only without the help from white people would blacks achieve equality. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X wanted to improve the status of black people in the United States, but had different courses of action and perspectives on how to tackle the issue. King’s principles and theories were better suited to address the Civil Rights Movement. After examining the philosophies of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X on the racial based issues and injustices of economic corruption and poverty, school segregation, and hate crimes, it is clear that Martin Luther King had the better vision for the United

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