Malcolm, a daring advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. Malcolm’s father Earl Little was an out spoken Baptist minister and supporter of Marcus Garvey back to Africa movement. His push for Civil Rights made him and his family a target of death threats forcing them to move. Later along the way Malcolm’s father was killed. This cause Malcolm’s mother to become sick and moved in to a mental institute.
Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested during the boycott, his home was bombed and he was subjected to personal abuse. In April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated for being black and fighting for equals’ rights. (en.wikipedia.org) and (www.nobelprize.org) Now you might ask, was Socrates wrong for allowing himself to be put to death? This question can be answered in two ways. Socrates was wrong for allowing himself to be put to death because he could have asked the jurors on his trial for a realistic sentence.
MLK was raised and nurtured in a well-wealthy class family with a chance to make it as a black man and go to college and be somebody, On the other hand, Malcolm X was brought up in the 'ghetto', and had to learn to defend himself against racist white children. He was misleading caused from his fathers death who was found dead, murdered by a white mob. His mother became mentally ill so he was sent to a foster home in the early ages. There is also a key difference in what each of them was, which is that MLK was a activist during the Civil Rights Movement and Malcolm X was an Islamic Civil Rights Activist, who became popular in the mid to late 1960's as a member of Nation of Islam. He and the Nation advocated self-defense and the total economic and political independence of Black America.
All black everything is not the way to go, both black and white is what should show. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. are the two most well known Civil Rights leaders in America from the 1960’s, but they both had different views of solving the racial problems in America. Malcolm X’s philosophy was to keep segregation, but have a mutual respect between blacks and whites. He also believed in violence if necessary, and seemed to be a radical “Black Power” activist. Martin Luther King Jr. on the other hand took after the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, and believed in nonviolence and boycotting.
Feeling defeated, and probably angry Malcolm’s intentions to further his education were tarnished. He morphed into a new identity known as “Detroit Red” and committed numerous small crimes and this same recklessness eventually had him convicted and sentenced for eight to ten years in jail around 1946. His siblings sent him letters while Malcolm was in Charleston State Prison and became interested in the Nation of Islam. Malcolm then contacted Elijah Mohammed who was known, as the leader of the group and while The Nation of Islam wasn’t mainstream Islam, but a spin-off version where other African Americans wanted to follow some of the Muslim’s ideals or practices. For the first time Malcolm felt like he belonged somewhere with a new identity and purpose in life.
Malcolm X preached Black supremacy and Black Nationalism. Propaganda was used all throughout Malcolm X’s fight for Civil Rights during the 1950’s and 1960’s, Propaganda in the form of utilising speeches and having the ability to persuade people through these speeches, With this great ability he was able to gain mass following and become very popular and power full within the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X was a member of the NOI until 1962, when, allegedly, following a fallout with Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X formed his own organization, the black nationalist Organization for Afro-American Unity. He said he had formed the new organization because there were many African American people who were not religiously inclined to accept the Muslim faith, but were interested in active participation in the political, economic and social program of the black nationalists. (BLACK NATIONALISM An all-Negro Nation is one of the principal goals by Gary Allen, 1967)With preaching to his followers of a new way of life by living without the White Americans temptations, these temptations were put in place to get the African Americans to become out of order and become divided with this happening the White Americans would be able to sneak their was in a diminish the want for the
Malcolm X has been considered one of the most influential leaders in African American history. He was one of the most active advocates for black rights and rejected the mainstream ideas of civil rights leader such as Martin Luther King Jr. (Rollyson “Malcolm X”). Through speeches such as Message to Grassroots, Malcolm X uses the “house negro” and the “field negro” as a metaphor for the difference between the movement towards integration advocated by Martin Luther King and the Nation if Islam’s movement towards separation. He calls for unified opposition to stand up and fight against the white man. Malcolm X conveys in this speech the anger and fear that lived in the hearts of most African American at the time.
He was a very important figure as he attracted many new converts by his influential, powerful oratory. He convinced people such as Muhammad Ali to become a member of the nation of Islam. Malcolm X was highly critical of Martin Luther King, addressing him as ‘Uncle Tom’ and the civil rights movement. He argued that the SCLC and the NAACP trusted the American system and believed in the ‘American dream’ therefore they’d never be able to set the black people free and gain them independence. He also criticised Martin Luther king by saying that he was preventing black people from effectively fighting for their rights by involving religion, which he explained in his speech, ‘The ballot or the
Zack Ketchum Professor Rodgers Essay #2 27 November 2013 “Upbringing as a factor of King and Malcom X’s Political Ideologies” Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are two of the most well-known American civil rights activists of the 1960’s. Though different, their methods of protest were very important, as both men fought for the end of second-class-citizen treatment of African Americans. Often times, their methods are considered opposites - while King frequently endorsed peaceful methods such as harmless protests and speeches, Malcolm X employed violence in order to demonstrate his discontent and desire for change of the status quo. The issue that arises when one looks to compare the two men and their methods, then, is who was better?
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little) was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925. His childhood was filled with racist violence of the civil rights movement. Malcolm’s father Earl Little was a Baptist minister and follower of the Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who stood for independent Black economic development and emigration to Africa. Due to the threats of the time, the family relocated to Lansing, Michigan where their house was burnt down by a white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan. This racist group was responsible for the death of Malcolm’s father leaving him on train tracks for dead.