Martin Luther King and Malcom X

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When people hear the word Civil Rights Movement, two men automatically come to their minds, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. While both these men had very different views and ideas, they also shared similarities. Part of the reason for their different views was because one was in the South and the other was in the North. Martin saw a Dream that could be fulfilled in the South and Malcolm saw a Nightmare, which would never end in the North. Martin and Malcolm were raised in very different homes. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in Atlanta; his family status was that of the middle class, he never experienced poverty or hunger like Malcolm did. Martin was raised in a loving and supporting environment. His parents instilled in him the importance of self-respect and self-help. They taught Martin and his other siblings that they could make something out of their lives despite the fact that the color of their skin was black. Martin's father was a prominent preacher for the Ebenezer Baptist Church. His mother was a member of the choir. Family and church were a big part of Martin's childhood, and influenced his adult life and they way he chose to lead it. Unlike Martin's supportive family, Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X, grew up in a home that never knew what it meant to be in the middle class; Malcolm's family grew up in the ghettos of the North. His parents never taught their children to love themselves and be proud of who they were, because they themselves had lost their self-respect. Malcolm's parents were very abusive to their children and to each other, making the home environment just as volatile as the surroundings outside. Malcolm's parents were big supporters of Marcus Garvey's teachings. His father was the president of the Omaha branch of the UNIA, which was started by Garvey, and his mother was the reporter for the meetings. Not only were their religious backgrounds different and their social class standings different, their educational history was also very different. Malcolm dropped out of school when he was in the eighth grade. His parents never stressed the importance of getting a good education and so he was never motivated to stay in school. The rest of Malcolm's education came from the ghettos of Boston and New York, and eventually from the Charlestown Prison. Martin on the other hand not only... ... middle of paper ... ...ation of Islam and it's militant teachings and beliefs. These two men inspired a nation to take a stand against oppression and hate. They taught blacks everywhere to stand up for themselves, whether with civil non-violent direct action, or with separatist self-defense. They taught that the most important element was self-respect or self-love. Maybe if Martin and Malcolm had put their differences with each other aside they could have combine the strengths of both their philosophies and united to gain a more secure force against the white society. At the end of their careers as leaders they were starting to do just that, but unfortunately someone took it into their own hands to make sure unity between the two men would never happen. Bibliography Cone, James H. Martin and Malcolm and America. New York: Orbis Books, 1991. Franklin, Robert Michael. Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African-American Thought. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. Perry, Bruce. Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America. New York: Station Hill Press, 1991. Williams, John A. The King God Didn't Save. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1970.

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