The Beliefs of Martin Luther King Jr. versus Malcolm X “I have a dream, that one day little black boys and black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sister and brother.” (de Kay 75)…Martin Luther King Jr. During the past century, the United States of America has wresled with the problem of inequality between black and white people. Two influential people who helped to combat racism and the inequality of man were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X had two differentiated approaches to accomplish the same things for black. Both King and Malcolm X started their own organizations, organized rallies, and both gave speeches, but, their beliefs and theories were extreme opposites. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the teachings of Mohandas Gandhi and peaceful ways through speeches and rallies. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a man of peace and freedom and was the leader of the Christian Leadership Conference. Although Malcolm X also did rallies and speeches, he adopted and studied the teachings of the black Muslim leader, Elijah Muhammad, which led him to result in violence, trying to get blacks the same equal rights as whites. He went from place to place trying to develop racial pride in his black listeners by recognizing the suffering whites caused by blacks. Even though some people may believe in one what while others may believe in others, Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of peaceful ways and positive reasoning so blacks could get the same rights as everyone was much more effective compared to Malcolm X’s philosophy of aggression. Many people thought that Malcolm X’s philosophies became more effective than those of Martin Luther... ... middle of paper ... ... way to obtain equal rights without hurting or killing anyone. Kinowing this, he took into consideration the peaceful rallies and speeches which led him to believe that peace and love among our brothers would combat the racism. Martin Luther King, not only believed in equal rights for everyone, but most importantly, he had a dream. His dream was that one day whites and blacks could live as one in happiness. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize was not important to King. To him, justice was important. (de Kay 104) He called himself a “drum major for justice”. (de Kay 104) Bibliography: Works Cited De Kay, James. Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.. New York; Random House, 1969. Harris, Jacqueline L. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York; Watts, 1983. Hakim, Rita. And The March Toward Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr. Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1991.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both African American civil rights leaders wanting to bring freedom to black people during the 1960s. Even though both leaders wanted to liberate black people; their philosophies were drastically different. Malcolm X was wanted racial separation, while Martin Luther King wanted to both races to coexist. Religion is also a major part of this situation because most African Americans including MLK in America were Christian while Malcolm X’s goal was to turn all people who follow his path to convert into Muslims. Martin Luther King’s philosophy would’ve made more sense to 1960s America because most people who wanted freedom in society would rather consider coexisting than more racial
Martin Luther King believed in integration, he believed that everyone, blacks and whites should live and work together as equals. ‘I have a dream that … one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.' He held hope that one day black and white Americans would be united as one nation. This approach was crucial for engaging the white community. King was best able to expres...
In the 1960s, the nation was faced tumultuous times. There was racial tension between the white citizens and black citizens of America. Whites could not understand why the African Americans were so upset; they had their freedom from slavery and job opportunities. However, the African American was dissatisfied with the small crumbs of God given rights that all American citizens were entitled to. Two men propelled to the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement as leaders; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Their agenda was to seek equal rights for all Americans. But both men differ on the approaches needed to reach these goals; one believed using nonviolence was the answer while the other advocated violence Many people argue that the
Not only did King feel it was necessary to preach nonviolence in order to achieve equality among all Americans, he also felt it was important for his message to appeal to all people regardless of race. Despite of the injustice being inflicted upon them by the segregationists, King felt it was important for African Americans to love and respect people of all races.
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...
...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.
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” .
After slavery was abolished, African Americans worked to integrate into mainstream American society. During the twentieth century many African American civil rights leaders led the African American civil rights movement. All of them had different ideas and approaches to further improve the status for the African American individual in attempt to gain civil equality. The pioneer civil rights leaders of the twentieth century were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois. Their respected ideas were known to have contradicted with each other. Malcolm X, a black supremacist was a member of the NOI (Nation of Islam) and based his platforms of teachings off from religion. Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach towards gaining equality was of nonviolent actions. This proved to have been the most effective way to solidify through legislature the civil rights of African Americans within America. With that solid, Martin Luther King Jr. was the most productive and influential African American civil rights leader within the civil rights movement.
...res, and plunder, and power.” By reading all these books it built hatred towards the whites and anticipated as a necessarily to fight for the human rights of the African American people. In contrast, to Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X decided to fight violence with violence. As a result of his action, know his well known as the ideal civil rights activists for African Americans.
Although both of these activists have different solutions and deliver things differently, they both address racism and the injustice the U.S. government performs on daily basis. In addition to this, they are both African Americans who persuading different audiences but are delivering the same content. In MLK’s letter he responds to his clergymen’s criticisms by addressing the racial injustices in Birmingham; while Malcolm X is delivery the same content but his audiences are blacks and whites. Even though they are both striving to declare freedom and are willing to fight for their human rights, MLK is more effective than Malcolm X in fighting against racial
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.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy included an effort between all people to spark legislative and social change in society. Martin Luther King often supported working together with different people to achieve success, and he worked with many people, organizations, and presidential administrations to achieve justice and equality for all citizens. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech”, he spoke of integration between people of different races. He starts every line with “I Have a Dream” to show that his dream in society right at that time was unattainable. He hoped that his children ...
Dr. Martin Luther King lived in a time of Racial Segregation. He grew up with people scorning him simply because of the color of his skin. When he began a family of his own, he had the dream that life should be better than he had it. He marched protests and gave speeches, speaking his dream to everyone who would listen. His most famous speech being the “ I have a dream speech… ”. This speech spoke of his dream that all men were equal whether they were white, or black, or any other color of skin. That was his American Dream.
As King states in his "I Have a Dream" speech, "I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers" (Para 20).... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Ens, Jack Vans. Practice patience under pressure.