Compare and Contrast: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X

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In celebration of Black History month, this paper will attempt to compare and contrast two important men in the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. I will explore their upbringing and attempt to outline the similarities and differences in these two men. The lives of these two important characters had many similarities as well as differences. We will be exploring two areas in their life, which would be their childhood and philosophies of civil rights. In their childhood we will have three different areas to discuss which include home life, issues with segregation and their education. In addition we have to discuss three areas in their philosophies, which would include their end goals, short-term goals, and their approach. The first thing to be discussed is their childhood. Let’s start with the childhood of these two men. Martin Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. On the contrary, Malcolm was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Martin’s neighborhood was a pretty decent neighborhood while on the other hand Malcolm’s neighborhood was very rough with a lot of racism and the Klan harassing his family. Now let’s move to both these men’s parents and their relationship with them. Martin’s parents were very loving, Martin Sr. was more disciplinarian, while his wife’s gentleness easily balanced out the fathers more strict hand. Malcolm’s parents were also very loving, Louise, his mother, was a home maker and Earl, his father, was a preacher who was also an active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the avid supporter of the black nationalist leader, Marcus Garvey. Martin Jr. had a good relationship with his parents, but he wanted to please his father so he went into a career as a minister. Malcolm on the other hand had a different relationship with his parents, when his father died he
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