Martin Luther King and Malcom X

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Recommended: Martin Luther King Jr. impacted the American Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X are the two most celebrated figures from the Civil Rights Movement. The paths they led were extremely different, and what they preached sometimes conflicted with the other. However, they had the same goal in mind, and that was for African Americans in the United States have equal rights as others. Malcolm X is one of the most influential and controversial figures from the Civil Rights Movement. He began as a troubled young man and grew into a powerful leader. Malcolm became so effective in his leadership that he eventually became one of the focal individuals in the Nation of Islam after being imprisoned. His role in the Nation of Islam and what direction he wanted the group to go was unlike any other. Malcolm X believed in using more aggressive measures in the fight for civil rights. Which the members of the civil rights movement were soon after preached the opposite by Martin Luther King Jr. King is the most renowned leader of the Civil Rights Movement. His motives and visions are what the Civil Rights Movement stood for and believed in. Before his death on April 4, 1968, King preached non-violence as the policy for the African Americans fighting for justice to follow. The Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum going into his assassination, but lost it once he was shot. This shows how important Martin Luther King Jr. was to the African American citizens of the United States during the Civil Rights Movement. Although the non-violence campaign was getting “outdated”, King stuck to what he believed in and continued to protest without violence. King never preached what he thought was untrue, and even made enemies with President Johnson because of his outlook on the Vietnam War. However, although...

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...he next day. The Civil Rights Movement lost its leader and their momentum. Almost instantly, it had fallen apart and the movement died. The Poor People’s Campaign had failed without King’s guidance. Martin Luther King was the right man for his job, and no one took control to fill his shoes.
The trajectories of both King and Malcolm X were obviously extremely different, but as stated before, there is no doubting both of their mindsets and visions to see their race get equal rights. Even though many people look down upon the violence Malcolm X used and the hate he had for white people, it is hard not to respect his passion. For King, his preaching of non-violence is highly revered, and he shared the same passion in his work as did Malcolm X. Both men deserve to be remembered forever in history for their effort to help the blacks during the Civil Rights Movement.

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