Malcolm X Philosophies

Discuss the extent to which the philosophies and activisms of Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X encouraged young African-Americans to “Stand up” for civil rights between 1950 and 1965.
Martin Luther King Junior is regarded as the most influential civil rights leader in the history of America, and is certainly the most remembered, and coming a close second would be the different thinking’s and beliefs of Malcolm X. These two men both fought for the freedom and civil liberties of the African-Americans in the civil rights movement. These men both had a similar overall goal, they differed on the means and tactics of getting to this goal. Kings core belief was that of “active non-violence”, while X’s belief of “Black Nationalism” had a resentment

of white people and how they constantly oppressed the Black community. Despite these two very different beliefs, these two men both helped to inspire African-Americans to “stand up” and fight in the civil rights movement.
Professor August Meier has stated “he [King] communicates the Negro aspirations to White America more effectively than anyone else”. This praise of King’s oratory skills is the most prominent praise King receives. The reason of his great speaking skills is his past as a pastor and preacher in a Baptist church. King studied Ghandi’s belief that “Active non-violent” protest is the way to a true victory, and King whole heartedly believed and supported this method and ideology. The first protest where king implemented this tactic, was the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. This was the first protest that king was a part of, and it was in support of Rosa Parks who was arrested for sitting in the “White” section of a bus. King at the time was leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and he came up with the idea for all African-Americans to boycott the buses in Montgomery and so cutting off the main source of profit for the bus company. This boycott lasted from December 1st 1955 to December 20th 1956. This economic boycott helped launch Kings career as a major influence in the civil rights movement, helping king create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Kings ongoing activism helped inspire many young African-Americans to fight for the ongoing civil rights movement.
King also received his fair share of criticism as well as praise. The main criticism was his use of children in protests, especially their use in the Birmingham campaign where children were on the front line of protests against fire hoses and police dogs. These criticisms are well informed, but they draw away from the main influence of King, the influence that he helped shape the civil rights movement and that he inspired many.
Malcom X had very different philosophies, and X was very much against King in the civil rights movement, shown in his anger towards the march on Washington, which he called the “Farce on Washington”.

X’s belief in Black Nationalism meant that he wanted African-Americans to have a pride in their community and otherness, and to take pride in the fact that they aren’t “white”. This was not seen as a good thing by many people, including some prominent figures in the civil rights movement. X did have his support though, historian Peter Ling stated that “[X] had every reason to mistreat whites”, and his treatment of whites could be seen as payback for his father’s death when he was a child. Ling also has his criticisms of X stating “[His] influence rested on ‘shock value’”. X later in life became a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, and this is where he gained most of his influence. He did not do a lot for the civil right movement except inspire through his great oratory skills that gained him and the Nation support from many

African-Americans.
James M.

Cone a professor at the union of theological seminary is quoted saying “no one had a greater impact on the cultural impact of African-Americans during the second half of the 20th century than Malcolm X” and he goes on to state “No area of the African-American community escaped Malcolm’s influence”. This clearly shows that even today Malcolm X’s impact is still felt, inspiring many to fight for civil rights.
King and X were both very different people, but that should not draw away from the fact that they helped many African-Americans “stand up” for themselves and for their people during the civil rights movement. Neither of these men should be ignored when discussing the impacts of the civil rights movement as they both had massive impacts in the movement, and both were very successful in inspiring people, which will forever be their main

legacy.