malcolm x and martin luther king compare and contrast

malcolm x and martin luther king compare and contrast

It's connected to the United States, but globally, it's also connected to African decolonization, African independence, Third World independence, Middle East politics, all of it. And what he means by Black dignity is really Black people having the political self-determination to decide their own political futures and fates. In February 1965, King and other civil rights leaders were in Selma, Alabama, leading a voting rights campaign. He died at St Josephs Hospital at 7.05 pm. The ensuing carnage where State troopers used billy clubs and tear gas against unarmed marchers was caught on film and televised. No one lived more in the society of whites than I.. Compare and Contrast Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929. He claimed that he was "throwing himself into the heart of the civil rights struggle". For more articles about Black History, check out Sky HISTORY's Black History Month hub. Describing Kings famous 1963 march on Washington as 'the farce on Washington', Malcolm X created a deepening schism between the two black activist movements. These two Great Black Men Made the Ultimate Sacrifice for Black Equality. Both wanted the same goals, to make America a fairer place for African-Americans and anyone outside of white mainstream society but had very different tactics on how to achieve those goals. Malcolm X's manner of protest includes utilizing violence against violence and unequal rights, as well as advocating segregation of African Americans and whites. Although the teenage Malcolm excelled in high school with an interest in practising law he dropped out after a white teacher told him that such an occupation was 'no realistic goal for a [n-word]'. RT @StonerPhillyFan: By '71 JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr and Walter Reuther were eliminated. Did the Mob kill JFK? "[They] were talking about so much of these issues of police brutality and the criminal justice system, racial segregation and poverty and state-sanctioned violence.". Malcolm X was in Washington, D.C., for most of that spring as temporary head of Mosque No. Malcolm X said in contrast to this view that inequalities did not come from nowehere. hide caption. Martin Luther King became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which attracted headlines in the early 60s with its non-violent protests. Aside from unfavorable perceptions about white people, hefeltthat peaceful cohabitation between the two raceswasimpossible. They fought for what they believed in but in vastly different ways. Explain and support your response. published 20 May 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech to a huge crowd gathered on the Mall in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963, during the March on. That really takes away from understanding the depth and breadth of their political power, their political radicalism and their evolution over time.". Unlike Luther King, Malcolm X disliked white people because of their oppressiveness especially the poor Black poor people in the 'ghetto' (Ladenburg 31). "On the other hand, Malcolm X was raised in Omaha, [Nebraska], and in Lansing, Michigan, on farms, so he was a country boy, whose father was murdered by white supremacists when he was 6 years old," Joseph said. "Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X." Joseph believes that, while the differences between King and Malcolm X cannot be ignored, the two men were, in fact, much closer than commonly believed, though their upbringings could not have been more different. All Rights Reserved. He says that King and Malcolm X had "convergent visions" for Black America but their strategies for how to reach the goal was informed by their different upbringings. Unlike the other children at the detention center who were sent to a reformatory, Malcolm was allowed to attend Mason Middle School, the only regular middle school in town. ", It is perhaps because they evolved and were willing to learn from each other that each man has remained as relevant today as in the 1960s. Perhaps for these reasons, not long after the two assassinations took place, Martin and Malcolm's wives expressed a strong fellowship. He then became a hustler in Boston and Harlem as a teenager, and he was finally arrested for theft and spent seven years in prison. Equality is closely related to freedom of speech. On July 31, 1963, Malcolm X even publicly called for unity. As a member of the Nation of Islam, he embraced white America's value system, making everything black good and everything white evil. With an insecure standard of living, low educational attainment, and oppression in every way,most African-Americans have become victims of violence, evils, alcohol abuse, rape, and many other crimes. Her reporting focuses education, race, and public policy. Their perspectives are still widely discussed and debated today but seldom understood. The protest, apart from highlighting the murder of Lee Jackson, was also about drawing attention to the southern states laws upholding segregation and the injustice of using literacy tests as a barrier to stop black citizens from voting. Aside from their differences in racial beliefs and ideologies, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King's struggles have a distinct trajectory. We will send you an email to reset your password. All Rights Reserved. They define racism, and they define anti-racism and what social justice looks like for themselves. With this in mind, he founded African American Unity (OAAU). But it was Martins childhood friendship with a white boy, both inseparable and the later trauma of the friendship being terminated after they were sent to segregated schools, that the young King began to understand what it meant to be black in America. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), with its values based on peaceful protest and civil disobedience, was fully rejected by Malcolm Xs philosophy to achieve equality through violence (if warranted) and the total separation of African Americans from whites. And he always says there are these mountaintop moments, but then you have to go back to the valley. According to biographers, he was a self-declared pimp and drug dealer before finding himself incarcerated in Massachusetts in 1946 for being part of a burglary ring. MLK Jr. wanted equality but he achieved it without violence. Our bodies are tired and our feet are somewhat sore.'. https://www.thoughtco.com/similarities-between-mlk-and-malcolm-x-2834881 (accessed June 8, 2023). During the Civil Rights Movement, the leadership styles of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X deliver significant evidence of how different styles of endeavor may result in very separate fights. Although Malcolm X eventually came to believe in black citizenship his early separatist vision, which he translated as not being about segregation between black and white citizens but separation, was based on his belief that white people did not want black people to be citizens and have dignity. While not entirely denouncing his earlier positions, he adopted a more conciliatory approach, writing, I was no less angry than I had been, but at the same time the true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision. He went on to say, he believed America is the first country that can actually have a bloodless revolution. Later that year, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity, a group that called for Black self-determination and economic independence and to connect African Americans with the African heritage. Dr. King and Malcolm X both worked hard to establish legal equality for blacks. Three years earlier in his speech Ballot or the Bullet, Malcolm X discussed the importance of expanding civil rights activism to human rights activism. You see him in an interview with [writer] Robert Penn Warren, saying that he and King have the same goals, which is human dignity, but they have different ways of getting there," Joseph explained. "@Chromadeline @AccountJustFor1 In this case it doesn't really matter when most of stuff about him in modern history class curriculum about the civil rights movement just boils down to "Martin luther king jr was the good guy because he wasn't radical and malcolm x was a evil violent terrorist"" In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life. Although Martin Luther King Jr. was known as a civil rights leader and Malcolm X as a Black radical, both men became advocates for oppressed people across the globe. In July 1963, Malcolm invited King to join a rally in Harlem. The last actual liberal to run for President would be defeated the next year. Just weeks later, Malcolm was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam, while delivering a speech in New Yorks Audubon Ballroom. This display of power, by a black man, unsettled the New York Police Department. Orcas rip rudder off boat and follow it all the way to port, in 1st known attack of its kind. They may not be allies, but they are no longer rivals in the fight for civil rights. During this period, Malcolm was also very interested in the black suffrage movements. It wasn't segregation. Therefore Every Black Person Should Strive for Advancement and Black Excellence. But why? The following successes highlight the strength of nonviolence: the Montgomery bus boycott (1955), student sit-ins (1960), Freedom Rides (1961), Birmingham protests (1963), the March on Washington (1963), the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the Selma March (1965). In response, Malcolm intensified his attacks on King, particularly over the March on Washington held just weeks later, and the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama, church that killed four African American girls that September. In what can be seen as the most disingenuous of attacks on Martin Luther Kings most notable achievements, Malcolm challenged MLKs famous 'I have a dream' speech, counter-posing what he saw as a utopian notion of the future put forward by the mainstream civil rights movement that suggested a time will arrive when being black or white doesnt matter anymore when people live in freedom and harmony. Malcolm X was born on May 19th, 1925 Martin Luther King was a very good statesman who delivered moving speeches about peace, freedom and democracy. He is currently based in Bournemouth, UK. Martin Luther King Jr. and MalcolmX Only Met Once. Despite the public animosity, Malcolm X attempted to reach out to King over the years, sending articles and NOI reading materials and even inviting him to speeches and meetings. Photo was taken by Marion S. Trikoskor. We have been drenched by the rains. Arrested at the age of 21, he was introduced to the Nation of Islam while in prison. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. But by March 15, LBJ, the president, is going to say these protesters are right and they are part of a long pantheon of American heroes dating back to the revolution. This interview originally appeared in All About History issue 96. Malcolm X argued that America was too racist in its institutions and people to offer hope to blacks. It was a life with raw experience of what it was to be black in 1940s and 1950s America. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were near contemporaries, born four years apart in the 1920s, and both experienced the bitter racism of mid-twentieth-century America. And in a way, when we think about King, right after Malcolm's assassination, King has what he later calls one of those "mountaintop moments." With the backing of President Lyndon Johnson the Voting Rights Act became law on August 6, 1965. Their different views may have been rooted from the where they were raised. 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