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Civil rights movements in the united states
Civil rights movement in the USA
The impact of Martin Luther King on the civil rights movement
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During the civil rights movement, the people (African American) and theirs leaders use different methods or approaches to achieve their goal, but I will focus on DR Martin Luther King JR and Malcolm X philosophies towards the “role of violence”. DR King and Malcolm X are two black men living in America when black people are treated and considered inferior human race. They are actually second class citizens in their own country. Although Dr King and Malcolm X goals are the same, but their method or approach towards achieving it are drastically different. Dr King believed that to work against injustice, one must develop a nonviolent frame of mind to achieve that because differences cannot be settled through violence. …show more content…
Black is Beautiful. Black power movement believed that black folks have run out of patience seeing their people dehumanized as if they are common animals that worth nothing on earth. They believed that it is time for blacks’ to take control of their selves instead of being brainwashed and polluted by white folks. In 1968 Kwame Ture define Black Power as “ the ability of black people to political get together and organize themselves so that they can speak from a position of strength rather a position of weakness”(Lander 1967,p.8). Now looking at this definition, I can say that their philosophy is to liberate black people from white colony and instilling Black peoples mind that Black is beautiful and gorgeous in every aspect of life. Black power movement did not believe that blacks should totally assimilate into white folks because that means that their history is worth not preserving. This leads me back to what I believed is their philosophy (liberating Blacks form white colony). The Black power movement also accepted Malcolm X philosophy towards violence than Dr King’s view towards violence. They believed that Dr King view of nonviolence tactics is not a viable option for blacks’ libration, in fact integration is as good as surrendering to white supremacy. Their believe is that blacks should be a force of their own and they are ready to take their rights in a violent way if consistently denied the most basic of human rights. In all sense, they are
In the century where African-Americans had no rights and were highly discriminated, two men set out to make a new lifestyle for each other. Those two men where Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X. Frederick Douglass was a slave when he began to learn to read. Malcolm X was in prison when he began to learn how to read, he was in prison because he was an activist civil right. Both of this men have a great influence to the changes made for African-American rights. Both of this men have similarities and differences. Some of the similarities are why they wanted to learn, and their background. The differences are in the way that they learned to read and write and at what time they learned to read and write. Although both men have similarities they
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.
Civil Rights Movement “Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon without cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” - Martin Luther King Jr. “I don’t even call it violence when it’s self-defence; I call it intelligence.” - Malcolm X Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were two of the most prominent leaders during the Civil Rights Movement who helped the African Americans to gain equal right and collapse the walls of oppression held. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both African American civil rights advocates who fought for freedom against racial discrimination, but used different approaches to get their message across.
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...
Who was a great well known activist in the past ? Militant is the best way to describe Malcolm as a person: Civil rights activist and Islamic preacher, he was often called the prince of Islam. As a comparison in the present world today Jay-z earned his way to go under as activist. Jay-z donated to a number of foundations that needed help from, and also countries around the world too. The common thread between the two are, the both went through tribulations to help their country in a lot ways.
The history of the United States has in it much separation or segregation due to race. For a long time our country has seen racism as a large problem and this has caused ethnic groups to be looked down upon and forced into a lifestyle of difficulties and suppression. Due to this, races, particularly African-Americans, have been forced to deal with unequal opportunity and poverty, leading to less honorable ways of getting by and also organizations that support change. Malcolm X is one strong example of an African American man who became apart of a group acted against it, uniting people to promote the advancement of colored people and change. Malcolm's thoughts towards race and civil right in the previous years were displayed in a less way to the people and "by any means necessary" perspective. After his pilgrimage in 1964 his view of civil rights had quickly changed into a more complete view of civil rights, and the peoples views towards him. No one really knows what kind of impact Malcolm X would have had on history if he had not been assassinated. His beliefs and philosophy did gain him a place in history as one of the best-known Black Nationalist Leaders. Everyone seems to have known who Malcolm X was, and he ranks high with all other Black leaders. His ideas were radical and he was very out spoken. He was a major force in the development of black history. He fought not only for his people but also for all oppressed people everywhere. He was well spoken and he laid the groundwork for the black power movement of the late l960's.
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
Malcolm X was born on 1925 in Ohama, Nebraska. He was born in a big family. His father, Earl little was a Christian. Malcolm X grew up as the son of the blacks who face discrimination and pressure from the whites. Malcolm X left school early and find work in New York. He worked as a waiter in Harlem. His life was tough. He even sells drugs to and become addicted to it. He later becomes robbers. He was arrested and jailed in 1946.
The use of violence during the Civil Rights Movement proved to be ineffective because it furthered social tensions between Whites and Blacks. The people who generated violence were mainly the Black Panthers advocating Black Power. Black Power called for nationality, unity, self-pride, self-defense and the separation from the White race (Blumberg 9). The idea of separation of the White race competed with integration since Black Power wanted “African Americans to establish their own ...
Throughout the millenia, there have been several revolutionaries who have prefered the actions of nonviolence protest to that of violence. These ranks include those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the list goes on and on. However, in modern day America, African Americans are constantly fighting for more rights and equality. In 1865, the 13th ammendment was passed and slaves were given citizen ship. Since then, there has still been racism amongst the people and battles for equality. On the other hand, another form of revolution is that of violence and to force your voice to be heard. The most prominent person for the African Americans was that of Malcolm X. He voiced his opinion very strongly and made his voice heard amongst his opposers as well as his followers. These two methods are very different, but in the end, Malcolm X made a stronger point to benefit the African American's.
The civil rights movement in the 1950s-1960s was a struggle for social justice for African Americans to gain equal rights. One activist who became the most recognizable spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr, a christian man dedicated to the ideas of nonviolence and civil disobedience. Although the Civil war had officially abolished slavery, blacks were still treated as less than human for many years after. Martin Luther King Jr has positively impacted the world with his peaceful protest approach to gaining social justice; but with the increase of hate crimes being committed, I believe individuals today need to pick up where King left
The frustration African Americans were beginning to increasingly feel in the mid to late 1960’s was heavily evident in the attitude of allowing violence to be used because many African Americans were becoming unsatisfied with the slow pace they were reaching equality as well as the retaliation against them. Hence, the movement of the Civil Rights movement away from being content with sticking to nonviolent tactics symbolizes the determination African Americans wanted to gain equal rights even by inflicting
Although they both sought to achieve equal rights for black citizens, Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent, peaceful resistance was more effective in accomplishing this goal than Malcolm X's hatred toward his white oppressors. Martin Luther King used his faith and his personal ideals about peaceful resistance to combat injustice that existed because of Jim Crow Laws. He and his followers believed that civil disobedience was the most effective way to fight injustice. This included the Freedom Rides, Protest, and Civil Disobedience. Malcolm X, on the other hand, used any means necessary to be heard, even violence.
In the late 19th century, there were many blacks who took part in the civil rights movement. Many of them believed in a nonviolence approach. This idea was based on the premise of the late Mahatma Gandhi, who believed social change would occur
From the Autobiography of Martin Luther King Junior, “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence,” it said “The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But the way of nonviolence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.” (Sequeira). The African American Civil Rights Movement was an ongoing fight for personal rights, protections, and privileges of all races, especially African Americans, the largest minority group in the United States. It was a stand against the segregation laws that disallowed African American citizens their basic rights such as their citizenship, and right to vote. This pivotal movement