In America from 1950 - 60’s African Americans were oppressed, they had discrimination, unequal opportunities, and were facing police brutality. Some leaders in the African American community like MLK and Malcolm X rose up to lead marches and other methods to make a difference. Although Malcolm X and MLK differed in opinions about protests they both agreed about the goals of the African Americans. MLK and Malcolm X agreed on much of the goals of the African American people. An excerpt from MLK’s famous “I Have a Dream” says “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a …show more content…
Both of them used protesting but the difference between them was MLK believed peaceful protests were more effective while Malcolm X used more violence. Document A shows a picture of an African American group of students using a sit-in which were the students sitting at lunch counters only for whites, they would sit there until they got served or forced out by police. This movement was on MLK’s side of the protests and were highly effective in integrating the lunch counters and happened all over the U.S. On Malcolm X’s side the “Black Panthers” group of protesters said “We believe we can end police brutality in our black community by organizing black self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our black community from racist police oppression brutality.” The Black Panthers would express the right to bear arms by all carrying guns. The difference is MLK and the north protesters were more of a peaceful protesters and Malcolm X and the south were approaching more
The Civil Rights movement was a movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern States that became nationally recognized in the middle of the 1950s. Though American slaves were given basic civil rights through the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments of the Constitution, African Americans still had a hard time trying to get federal protection of their newly found rights. A man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the American Civil rights Leaders who used nonviolence in order to reach a social change. He used nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice against African Americans like segregation laws. He wasn’t just fighting for the equality of all African American but was also fighting for the equality of all men and women. Malcolm X is another great leader who fought for what he believed in. He was a black activist who, unlike King, promoted a little violence. Malcolm X wanted the nation (African Americans) to become more active in the civil rights protests. Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had different methods for gaining civil rights. I believe that Martin Luther King Jr. method was more effective thanMalcolm X methods. In King “’Letter from Birmingham Jail” King defends himself on writing about why he is using nonviolent resistance to racism. Throughout the letter he shows his reasoning using logic, emotion, and ethics. Throughout his life King used this same method to reach how to hundred of thousands of African Americans.
On the other hand, Malcolm X believed in the utilization of any denotes indispensable to reach his goals. The one area is the kindred attributes between the two. In fact, one could verbalize that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were consummate antitheses. Martin Luther King was able to enlighten the world an edification. He showed us that goals can be reached without violence. Although , Malcolm X may have reached his goals, but he engendered nonessential violence along the way.. You may argue that even though Martin Luther King’s protests were halcyon, violence still occurred. The difference in my opinion is that the Hangings and attacks that African Americans faced were out of their control. It was the decision of those that they were protesting against to bellicosity beat them and kill them. Malcolm X on the other hand was many times the initiator of violence. He brought violence to his protests and ergo engendered extra violence, which can be deemed to be nonessential. At the terminus of the day many would favor of the lessons which Martin Luther King Jr uplifted as his decisions and outcomes can influence the decisions of future generations in times of conflict. Malcolm X’s conception of doing anything to reach his goals is not a good representation for future generations as it remotely
Traditionally, examination of the black Civil Rights movement focuses on the careers of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Dr. King and Malcolm X had very different ideas on how to solve the racial discrimination in America. Dr. King was an integrationist who used non-violent protest to focus the media on the moral wrongs the dominant white society imposed on blacks. Dr. King believed that exposing the outrages of segregation would force the government to mend the system. Malcolm X was a separationist who believed in fighting back when attacked and advocated that the blacks in this country should take what by all means is rightfully theirs. The white system was corrupt, argued Malcolm X, and blacks should start their own system rather than wait for the white society to internally fix theirs.
The main primary difference focused on their willingness to employ violence to achieve their end goals. While Dr. King suggests a civil disobedient approach in “Give Us The Ballot” and “Pilgrimage to Non Violence,” Malcolm X believed otherwise, expressing his belief that the black community needed to rise up and organize. Malcolm X articulated his view on the necessary use of violence and retaliation in “The Ballot or the Bullet”.
The Civil Rights Movement was a series of actions that really peaked in the 1960's. These political actions were aimed at gaining rights for African Americans. However, there were two ways of going about the movement. There were ones who protested peacefully, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others who wanted a more pro-active way of fighting, like the black-rights activist Malcolm X. However, which way was more proactive? Even though both had great intentions, Dr. Martin Luther King had a better way of trying to achieve rights for the African American community.
These two figures have played a monumental role in the Civil Rights era. Without them the luxuries that African Americans enjoy would not be so if this three men did not speak and call for improvement of the treatment of Blacks in America. Dr Martin L. King and Malcolm X are names to remember but not only is their name worth memorization but likewise their speeches are ones to remember. The two major speeches given by these men are entitled “I have a Dream” given by Dr. King, and “The ballot or the bullet” given by Malcolm X. All two of these speeches show off the different approaches that the individuals took to and what improvement looked like.
African Americans are fortunate to have leaders who 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...
At this period of time, African American kneel down and cry with no hope. But there is hope. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are two activist who seem to have the solution to the discrimination. However, these two men have their own distinctive method of trying to solve the same
MLK would always preach about the nonviolent way being better and this was true because it showed the white moderates that they meant no harm. Whenever violence broke out they would be able to easily tell who was the one who started it. His methods inspired the Cngress of Rational Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to ride a bus throughout the southern states to see if there were any problems and if they had any desegregated buses. In Alabama they encountered a white mob who lit the bus on fire and beat the passengers. This made world news so it started the conversation and encouraged JFK to take action. JFK then started brings up a strong civil rights bill to congress called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned different voting standards for blacks and whites, witheld federal funds from public/provate programs that practiced discrimination, and banned discrimination based on religion,sex,or national origin by employers and unions. MLK's peaceful method was the effective in inspiring change in
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” .
Martin Luther King and Malcolm x are both strong representations of two different approaches to a common goal. Martin Luther King Jr. preferred a nonviolence approach to the situation. Whereas, Malcolm X handled racism in a violent approach. However, both man believed African Americans deserved their human rights and equal say. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in an integrated society while Malcolm X wanted African Americans to have their segregated neighborhoods just as good as the whites.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were very significant during the Civil Rights Movement. Both were excellent speakers and shared one goal but had two different ways of resolving it. Martin Luther King Jr. chose to resolve the issues by using non-violence to create equality amongst all races to accomplish the goal. Malcolm X also wanted to decrease discrimination and get of segregation but by using another tactic to successfully accomplish the similar goal. The backgrounds of both men were one of the main driven forces behind the ways they executed their plans to rise above the various mistreatments. Martin Luther King Jr. was a more pronounced orator, a more refined leader, and overall saw the larger picture than Malcolm X.
Malcolm X once said, “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” (X, Prospects for Freedom in 1965, chapter 12) Various African American leaders have rallied up protesters and have recited speeches, like Malcolm X’s “Prospects for Freedom”; yet, none seem to compare to King’s “I Have a Dream.” The speech has been heard all around the world, and is by far one of the most well known. Accordingly, “I Have a Dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most enthralling; moreover, he persuades America that inequality should have never existed, and everyone should have freedom adorning them, that was earned peacefully. This idea is exhibited by the speech’s distinguished evidences: the African
MLK’s approach to civil rights/equality was non-violent protesting, speaking out for nonviolence, passive resistance, and what he called, “weapons of love”. However, Malcolm X’s approach to civil rights/equality was extremely different. He was suspicious of whites, willing to use “by any means necessary” to achieve equality. He was a segregationist until he went to Mecca. The commonality that they both share is that they both wanted equal rights for African Americans they just went down different paths to receive those rights.