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Running Head: HISTORICAL CONTRAST OF MALCOLM X AND MARTIN LUTHER KING
Malcolm X And Martin Luther King Views Are Essentially The Same
Aisuluu Zhunusbekova
Kingsborough Community College, English 12
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are not really different when you investigate the history or origin of their thought. The goal of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X was essentially the same. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were arguing the same point, but had different audience.
The origin of Malcolm X ideology came from Islam. It was Marcus Garvey that inspired Malcolm X that made him adopted the Islamic faith. Muhammad had sent him five dollars while he was in prison and words of wisdom that the white men were devils. However, it
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is not the indoctrination of Mohammed teaching that the white men are the devils, but the historical though of Islam that was influenced by Marcus Garvey that Malcolm X became a follower of Islam. The evidence came from the fact that he altered Elijah Mohammed in writing that the guards are reading this letter and is quite aware that he is referring to them as devils. Marcus Garvey was not very successful in Jamaica, so he decided to move to the United States of America to visit Booker T Washington.
Booker T Washington was a very powerful African American that believed that Blacks should empower themselves through education. Garvey idolized Booker T Washington, but did not get the chance to meet Booker T Washington due to the fact that he died before Garvey could have made it to the US. However, Garvey came to the US and impacted the United States in a very powerful way. He marked the beginning of successfully organizing black people worldwide. Garvey American experience was during the time in which the Jim Crow laws were still in effect. From surveying Black Americans and his American experience he decided that American will be able to acquire success at achieving desegregation. Garvey did not felt that it was completely impossible; He felt it is possible if Black people unite and show the white man that they are not less than through education, politics, and economics. He felt the only way Blacks were going to end segregation were through the empowerment of their community politically, economically, and education. He felt the only way they can achieve such goals were through unity. In addition, the only way to unite Blacks across the world was to get them to start seeing themselves in a positive light. He informed parent to stop giving black children white dolls to play with and give them black dolls to teach them to love …show more content…
themselves. It was also due to Garvey in which Malcolm X had joined the Islamic faith. Elijah Mohammed was not a member of the UNIA, but he respected the teaching of Garvey. The fact Mohammed had given Farrakhan power to control the nation of Islam just further impacted Garvey’s view into the nation of Islam. Farrakhan admire Marcus Garvey. Farrakhan as a young man asked his father if he could have meet Marcus Garvey and his father told him that he died. Farrakhan stated that it was the “saddest days of his life”. The only view that Malcolm X carried that was different from Garvey is that he believed that Black American should form a central unit inside the United States to overcome the White man. He believes that Black should unite the same way the white man unites. The other different view that he held differently from Garvey, but it is not a situation of being indifferent, but an issue that was not address by Garvey was using military force to protect Black communities. The fact that one cannot talk about achieving military victory without achieve a good economy we cannot really conclude that he was in deviation from Garvey with a militant view. What we do know is Malcolm X and Garvey believed that every black people should unite. What Malcolm did in fact deviated from Garvey is that he believes that black people should live together in a tight mesh and not is a spread of clusters, which is technically not much different than Garvey. Malcolm X’s idea of unity and keeping money in their economy was essential the same a Garvey, but just did not include going back to Africa. Martin Luther King was a rebellious young man. One of the reasons for his rebellion is due to his authoritarian parent. His father before sending his to college had even beaten him to be something of his self. Then he turned to his brother and asked him if he know why he just spanked Martin Luther King and his brother replied “yes sir.” Then his father told King’s brother that he wanted him to make something of himself too so he was next to be spanked. When Martin Luther King went to college he chose one far away from his father, so that he would have less control over him. As a result, Martin Luther king choose to go to a college in Pennsylvania. By the time his father could have visited the college to investigate what was going on, it was too late. Martin Luther King was already thinking outside of the box. He was even questioning the Bible. Not only has his father experience a culture shock when they visited the north, but Martin Luther King himself, too. Martin Luther King could not believe his eyes when he saw white maids cleaning up after and serving black student at the university. At the university he fell in love with a white women name Betty. He wanted to marry Betty, but Betty told him that people of their kind would face harsh ridicule and harassment due to the time in which they live in. Martin Luther King did not marry a white woman as he really wanted to, but choose to marry women that had no ethnic niche with his original community in Alabama. The reason he may have married her was because it would be easier to cheat on her with white women. Martin Luther King original idea came from Gandhi. At the university in Pennsylvania he learned of Gandhi and decided to implement his theory into his own. Gandhi was an Indian that felt that non-violent method was the appropriate way to overcome adversity. King realized that he could not have overcome the White power in the United States, so he suggested what he called “passive resistance”. “Passive resistant” may mean that one should not give into white power, but when their society failed cut off their heads and burn down their house. Martin Luther King said that one should use love to overcome racism. Martin Luther King view was not as in line with Garvey. One would easily think that Martin Luther King view was similar to Garvey due to the boycott in Montgomery, which can be used as evidence that he is using the black economy to suppress racism in America. (Malcolm X Action). A view which is similar to what Malcolm X was aiming at as taking action. One should also do some detective work on the boycott in Montgomery Alabama. That is what should have led to the boycott was really Claudette not Rosa Parks. The fact that Claudette was a low class and not member of the NAACP they did not care about the issue even though it was a very important issue to be addressed. This can be used as evidence that the Rich Blacks did not really care for civil right for just Blacks, but for themselves. The rich Blacks wanted to leave their secluded black community. The other evidence is that King did not want to support Colvin Claudette, A situation that Cedric Antonio Kyles highlighted in a movie called the “BarberShop.” The difference between Malcolm and Martin is that Malcolm only concerned about his people.
Malcolm stated that he cannot start worrying about other races and black people here in America are being oppressed. Martin Luther King on the other hand addressed not supporting the war in Vietnam. The other issue is that Martin Luther King believed that there was hope for white people and black people living in harmony. Malcolm X went to Holly Mecca and saw white people and black living in harmony, a concept that he said that we wanted white people and black people to come together and address their feeling without hurting each other. The issue is that White and Black do not speak the same language. Speaking the same does not mean the English language, but being able to be on the same level as the white man. This further gives evidence that taking action does not have to mean a physical war, but to empower of the black community. This action is the empowerment that Booker T Washington and Marcus Garvey were referring to that will change white
people. The reason why Malcolm X and Martin Luther King theory seems very different is that Martin Luther King was a better Public speaker. He had the ability to capture his audience and talk his way out of just about every situation. When Malcolm is question about using military forced he did not have the skills as Martin Luther King to escape such tight situation due his gift of public speech. He was also more affluent and educated than Malcolm X. Malcolm X was self-educated in prison. Malcolm X weapon was self-defense. Even though people consider him a radical that was will to launch a violent attack on White people. His motto was to shoot a dog if a dog bites you. Martin Luther King on the other hand motto was that African American should use the weapon of love. What makes their theory look different is that Martin Luther King’s theory was long term as to Malcolm X was thinking in the short term. There were several ideas in which he had agreed with Martin Luther King in that White People and Black people need to sit down together and come to a peaceful agreement between the two. The issue of Malcolm X thinking in the short term verses the long term goals makes him look a lot more violent than what he really is and being different than Martin Luther King.
They both seem to share the thought that they only way to gain freedom as a slave is to show you will do anything to receive that freedom, but they also shared some different views. In “Liberty, Equality, Power” “When Dr. King rushed to the scene, preaching politics of nonviolence local activists ignored or even ridiculed him” (Murrin 998) and Malcolm X “oftentimes criticized Dr. King’s gradual, nonviolent approach” (Murrin 1000) was a different approach on King’s role in segregation. In Murrin’s text he was portrayed as weak for believing that desegregation would happen with nonviolence. Everyone that was battling to receive freedom seemed to think otherwise that violence was in fact key. This changes the reader’s view on King and how he was not really portrayed as most people know him to be “a hero” for all African Americans. It seems that Murrin believes that Malcolm X made more of a change for African American’s and connected more with them than King
In contrast, Dr. King believed in the change through nonviolent methods, influenced by Gandhi. He also showed his readiness to work with whites toward social justice. However, X and Dr. King, with their two different ideologies, wanted to attain the same goal, Afro-Americans’ freedom (Malcolm X).
The 20th century was a definitive time period for the Black civil rights movement. An era where the status quo was blatant hatred and oppression of African Americans, a time when a black son would watch his father suffer the indignity of being called a “boy” by a young white kid and say nothing in reply but “yes sir”. Where a Black person can be whipped or lynched for anything as little as not getting off the sidewalk when approaching a white person, for looking into their eyes, or worse, “for committing the unpardonable crime of attempting to vote.” In the midst of the racial crises and fight for social equality were Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who despite their difference in philosophies were “icons of social justice movement both in the United States and around the world” .
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X DBQ Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both African American civil rights leaders wanting to bring freedom to black people during the 1960s. Even though both leaders wanted to liberate black people, their philosophies were drastically different. Malcolm X wanted racial separation, while Martin Luther King wanted both races to coexist. Religion is also a major part of this situation because most African Americans, including MLK in America, were Christian. Malcolm X’s goal was to turn all people who follow his path into Muslims.
Booker T. Washington believed that blacks should not push to attain equal civil and political rights with whites. That it was best to concentrate on improving their economic skills and the quality of their character. The burden of improvement resting squarely on the shoulders of the black man. Eventually they would earn the respect and love of the white man, and civil and political rights would be accrued as a matter of course. This was a very non-threatening and popular idea with a lot of whites.
Malcolm X and James Baldwin were two men that played a large role in defining a people and a cause during the 1950s and 1960s. Both of these men were dynamic African-Americans who lived primarily to help their people, who were terribly persecuted in the United States for many years. The interesting thing about these two men is that they strove towards the same goal—to unify African-Americans and give them strength and confidence—but they accomplished this goal in very different ways. Malcolm X, a leader in the Nation of Islam movement, believed that African-Americans needed to acquire strength and confidence so that they could separate from the White man and live together in peace, harmony, and production. On the other hand, James Baldwin, renowned writer, believed it necessary for African-Americans to have strength and confidence so that they might coexist on the same level as whites and accomplish what whites were accomplishing. The methodology and teachings of James Baldwin and Malcolm X differed greatly, but their general belief, that African-Americans were just as good as everybody else prevailed over all else, and made these men two of the very important faces of a generation.
...artin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X approach the same problem differently. They both use pathos, a central metaphor, and give a warning. However, Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos to create a welcoming and patriotic feeling whereas Malcolm X uses fear. Martin Luther King Jr. uses a check, used on a daily basis, as the object of his central metaphor; Malcolm X uses a powder keg, a very damaging and dangerous object, as the object of his central metaphor. Lastly, Martin Luther King Jr. warns his audience that the people of color will revolt passively. On the other hand, Malcolm X warns his audience that the people of color will revolt violently with bloodshed. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both achieve their goal. After reading both speeches, Malcolm X seems, in my opinion, to have made a greater impact on the white community because fear is stronger than joy.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm x are both strong representations of two different approaches to a common goal. Martin Luther King Jr. preferred a nonviolence approach to the situation. Whereas, Malcolm X handled racism in a violent approach. However, both man believed African Americans deserved their human rights and equal say. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in an integrated society while Malcolm X wanted African Americans to have their segregated neighborhoods just as good as the whites.
On the other hand, Malcolm X believed in the utilization of any denotes indispensable to reach his goals. The one area is the kindred attributes between the two. In fact, one could verbalize that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were consummate antitheses. Martin Luther King was able to enlighten the world an edification. He showed us that goals can be reached without violence. Although , Malcolm X may have reached his goals, but he engendered nonessential violence along the way.. You may argue that even though Martin Luther King’s protests were halcyon, violence still occurred. The difference in my opinion is that the Hangings and attacks that African Americans faced were out of their control. It was the decision of those that they were protesting against to bellicosity beat them and kill them. Malcolm X on the other hand was many times the initiator of violence. He brought violence to his protests and ergo engendered extra violence, which can be deemed to be nonessential. At the terminus of the day many would favor of the lessons which Martin Luther King Jr uplifted as his decisions and outcomes can influence the decisions of future generations in times of conflict. Malcolm X’s conception of doing anything to reach his goals is not a good representation for future generations as it remotely
Marcus Garvey, born in Jamaica, came to the United States on March 23, 1916 to spread "his program of race improvement" (Cronon, 20). Originally, this was just to gain support for his educational program in Jamaica, but would soon become much more. Because of conditions at the time, the American Negro World took a great liking to him and his ideas of race redemption. Garvey’s organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which was already established, was now the focal point for blacks in America to gather around.
In history we know that no two men are alike but, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were phenomenal people and leaders. Both had visualized some type of change in the future, yet were not literally able to see it. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X set out to bring a sense of confidence to blacks all over the United States. Their main purpose was to help instill black’s power and strength so that they could overcome racial disparity and prejudice that surrounded them, but both of them had very unique and distinct different ways of promoting their message. Martin was more geared and focused on equality and wellness of the world as a whole, a Malcolm X’s personal interpretation of the world was very well blinded by anger, bitterness, and the desire to get revenge at the expense of the world that he thought treated him unfairly.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. African Americans are fortunate to have leaders who have 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.
The main primary difference focused on their willingness to employ violence to achieve their end goals. While Dr. King suggests a civil disobedient approach in “Give Us The Ballot” and “Pilgrimage to Non Violence,” Malcolm X believed otherwise, expressing his belief that the black community needed to rise up and organize. Malcolm X articulated his view on the necessary use of violence and retaliation in “The Ballot or the Bullet”.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King arose as key figures in the religion of the their communities speaking as ministers. X was a member of the Sunni Muslim faith and prior to his death broke ties with the Nation of Islam. At the very beginning of his essay he distances the issue of religion in his argument explaining, “I'm not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it's time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will make you catch hell whether you're a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalist. (X 1)” Religion is removed from the equation before he even begins to make his stance for Black Nationalism. He does not intend to justify his reasoning through the will of God or the church because the problem that plagues the black community affects them regardless of what faith they subscribe to. This reveals much about the audience that Malcolm X is speaking out to. The Black Nationalism and segregation he advocates for is aimed only for his fellow African-Americans. By excluding his Islamic faith from the mix, he avoids alienating other blacks of different religions and does not seek to establish a common ground with the overwhelmingly Christian white opponents of the movement. Malcolm X reaches out to the victims of the system and avoids starting a
Based on some of the things Malcolm has done, Martin Luther King Jr. definitely had a different way of approaching issues. With both of their totally different ways of getting their point across, discussion could be made on who was more effective in the civil rights movement as a whole. If Malcolm X wasn't around and fighting for civil rights around the same time as MLK was doing it here he probably would of had much of a chance and would have just been killed, he in a way motivated the whole world into fighting for civil rights in their country, without his “black power” philosophy. He was easily in the top five people that got the civil rights movement to follow its course and end up getting equality for black and white. Malcolm X was orphaned early in life.