King Vs. Malcolm X Essay, Research Paper

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X grew up in different environments. King was raised in a comfy middle-class household where instruction was stressed. On the other manus, Malcolm X came from an underprivileged place. King was a self-taught adult male who received small schooling and rose to greatness on his ain intelligence and finding. Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 into a household whose name was good established. Despite segregation, Martin Luther King? s parents ensured that their kid was unafraid and happy. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 and was raised an ambiance of fright and choler where the seeds of resentment were planted. The combustion of his house by the Ku Klux Klan resulted in the slaying of his male parent. His female parent subsequently suffered a nervous dislocation and his household was split up. He was haunted by this early incubus for most of his life. From so on, hatred and a desire for retaliation drove Malcolm X. Both work forces finally became eminent icons of modern-day Afro-american civilization and had a great influence on black Americans. However, King had a more positive attitude than Malcolm X, believing that through peaceable presentations and statements, inkinesss will be able to someday will accomplish full equality with Whites. Malcolm X? s desperation about life was reflected in his angry, pessimistic belief that equality is impossible because Whites have no moral scruples. King fundamentally adopted on an integrationalist doctrine whereby he felt that inkinesss and Whites should be united and unrecorded together in peace. Malcolm X, nevertheless, promoted patriot and breakaway philosophies. For most of his life, he believed that merely through revolution and force could melanize achieve their rightful topographic point in society. Although both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were polar figures in the Civil Rights Movement, I argue that King? s attack which emphasized peace, integrity, and equality serves as the best manner to accomplish racial justness.

Both Malcolm X and King spread their messages through powerful, trenchant addresss. However, their purposes were delivered in different manners and intent. ? King was fundamentally a peaceable leader who urged non-violence to his followings. He traveled about the state giving addresss that inspired black and white hearers to work together for racial harmoniousness. ? Pg. 135, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Movement ) Malcolm X, for the most portion, believed that non-violence and integrating was a fast one by the Whites of keep inkinesss in their topographic point. He was ferocious at white racism and encouraged his followings through his addresss to lift up and protest against their white enemies.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King? s childhoods had powerful influences on the work forces and their addresss. Malcolm X was brought up in an ambiance of force. During his childhood, Malcolm X suffered non merely from maltreatment by Whites but besides from besides from domestic force. His male parent beat his female parent and both of them abused their kids. His female parent was forced to raise eight kids during the depression. After his female parent had a mental dislocation, the kids were all placed in surrogate places. Malcolm X? s bitterness was increased as he suffered through the depredations of incorporate schooling. Although he was an intelligent pupil who like Martin Luther King dreamed of being a attorney, Malcolm X? s choler and bitterness caused him to drop out of school. He started to utilize cocaine and put up a burglary ring to back up his expensive wont. Malcolm X? s ill will and publicity of force as a manner of acquiring alteration was good established in his childhood. Martin Luther King lived in an wholly different environment. He was a smart pupil and skipped two classs before come ining an Ivy League college at merely the age of 15. He was the category valedictory speaker with an norm. King paraded his graduation nowadays in a new green Chevrolet before his fellow alumnuss. He was raised in the perfect environment where dreams and love were generated. King and Malcolm X? s childhoods are? a survey in polarity. ? ( Pg. 254, Reflecting Black. ) Where as Malcolm X was raised in bloodcurdling status, King? s place was about dream-like. He was raised in a comfy middle-class place where strong values natured his sense of dignity.

Many people have admired Malcolm X and Martin Luther King for the manner that they preached. King and Malcolm X promoted self-knowledge and regard for one? s history and civilization as the footing for integrity. Other than the fact that they were similar in some ways, they besides had many differences that people admired, both in belief and address. Malcolm X, in many ways, was known to many as an extremist. For most of the clip that he spent as an Islamic curate, he preached about segregation between inkinesss and Whites. He besides preached about Black Nationalism, and as some would name it, black Supremacy. He besides talked about how the white adult male still sees the black adult male as a slave. Martin Luther King appeared to many as unagitated and idealistic. Many say his composure came organize his peaceable, middle-class life. For case, King preached about equality between inkinesss and Whites. He besides preached about acquiring this equality through a non-violent manner. King? s popularity was more than any other black leader popularity. ? King urged inkinesss to win their rightful topographic point in society by deriving self-respect, high moral criterions, difficult work, and leading. He besides urged inkinesss to make this in a non-violent affair, ? ( pg. 255, Reflecting Blacks ) The difference is in Malcolm X and Martin Luther King? s background had a direct influences on their ulterior point of view? s. As a black young person, Malcolm X was rebellious and angry. He blamed the hapless societal conditions that inkinesss lived in on the Whites. ? His yesteryear ghetto life prepared him to reject non-violence and integrating and to accept a strong separationist doctrine as the footing for black endurance, ? ( Internet, Malcolm X The Study Guide ) He believed that merely through force would conditions alter. He saw no grounds that white society had any moral scruples and promoted the function of the angry black against racialist America. King? s doctrines presented a crisp contrast to those of Malcolm X. He believed that through difficult work, strong leading, and non-violent tactics, inkinesss could accomplish full equality with Whites. His belief in non-violence even extended to a adult female who about killed him

. He was reported stating, ? wear? t persecute her, acquire her healed, ? ( pg. 52 Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Movement ) .

King and Malcolm X were heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. The addresss of King and Malcolm X reflected both work forces? s visions on bettering America. Both work forces believed that if inkinesss were to achieve freedom, they foremost needed to accomplish dignity. However, Malcolm X addresss were delivered in a radical tone which could motivate his hearers to hatred of white America. Malcolm X used direct and to the point linguistic communication, which could be understood, by all degrees of society. ? He had command in linguistic communication and could project his ideas. ? ( Internet, Remember Malcolm X ) This creativeness in linguistic communication helped construct the Black Muslim Movement in the United States. In his? Definition of a Revolution? address delivered in November 1963, Malcolm X openly justifies force as a manner of deriving equality. ? And if it is right for America to outline us and us and learn us how to be violent in defence of the state, so isn? t it right for you and me to make whatever is necessary to support our ain people right here in this state, ? ( pg. 253, Malcolm Ten: The adult male and his times ) . He encouraged inkinesss to detest white America and to revolt against them. ? Revolution is bloody, revolution is hostile, revolution knows no via media, revolution upsets and destroys everything that gets in its manner, ? ( pg. 255, Malcolm Ten: The adult male and his times ) In his address? God? s Judgement of White America, ? delivered on December 1, 1963, Malcolm X once more promoted his separationist doctrine? America must put aside some separate district here in the Western Hemisphere where the two races can populate apart from each other, since we surely wear? t get along peacefully while we are here together. ? ( pg. 287, Malcolm Ten: The adult male and his times ) After Malcolm X? s pilgrim’s journey to Mecca in 1964, he reappraise white America and modified slightly his racialist and anti-white beliefs. This alteration is reflected in his address? Communication and Reality? spoken to the America Domestic Peace Corps. ? I am against any signifier of racism. We are all against racism. I believe in Allah. I believe in the brotherhood of adult male, all work forces, but I do non believe in the brotherhood with anybody, who does non desire brotherhood with me. ? ( pg. 289, Malcolm Ten: The adult male and his times )

Martin Luther King was an every bit strong talker. However, most of his addresss were given to promote white and black people to work together for racial harmoniousness. He particularly wanted to learn waxy black young person that equality could be gained through non-violent methods. These ideals are reflected in his celebrated? I have a dream? address, where King addressed to over 250,000 people. In this address, King urges black people to ne’er bury their dreams. King preaches that in the eyes of God, the inkinesss are every bit good as any other race and should be treated as peers. ? I have a dream that one twenty-four hours every vale will be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the unsmooth topographic points shall be made field, and the crooked topographic points shall be made consecutive, and the glorification of the Godhead shall be revealed, and all shall see it together, ? ( Internet, Martin Luther King? s? I Have a Dream? address ) . Unlike Malcolm X, King does non promote his followings to riot and detest but encourages his followings to retrieve that all people are God? s kids and that hopefully one twenty-four hours all Americans can fall in together to sing America? s freedom vocal.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are both remembered as leaders who fought for a difference in black America. Both tried to convey hope to inkinesss in the United States. They besides tried to transfuse within inkinesss power and strength so they could lift above all the hatred that surrounds them, but both of them had really different ways of advancing their message. Malcolm X had a much more radical attack. King had a much more unagitated attack. Near the terminal of their lives, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X? s beliefs became more similar. Malcolm X corrected himself after his interruption with the Black Muslim motion. He now emphasized integrity and alteration through black pride and regard for oneself instead than through hatred and retaliation. King, on the other manus, became slightly angry at the deficiency of advancement made on equality. He started advancing non-violent sabotage, which included barricading the normal operation of authorities. At one clip, Malcolm X really wanted? to fall in forces with King and the progressive elements of the Civil Rights Movement, ? ( pg. 262, Malcolm Ten: The adult male and his times ) .

I argue that Martin Luther King? s attack to accomplish racial justness is superior to Malcolm X? s attack. Martin Luther King? s attack, which focuses on non-violent tactics, is the best manner to unify inkinesss and Whites as one. Using force to unify inkinesss and Whites would ensue in farther separating Whites and inkinesss and to boot would originate more hatred. For illustration, the end of the Civil War was to get rid of bondage and unite everybody as one. Bondage was abolished but prejudice remained and still continues today. Lifes were lost and a batch of bloodshed occurred, but finally Whites still view inkinesss as inferior. This violent war achieved a impermanent end, nevertheless, the idealism behind the action failed. I therefore argue that the terminals do non ever warrant the agencies and therefore force is non the reply.

In add-on to non-violent protest, Martin Luther King, unlike Malcolm X, saw that working together as one instead than working against each other would produces a better result. I agree with Martin Luther King Jr. that working together will carry through more instead than working against each other or by themselves. For illustration the film? Remember the Titans? demonstrates the power of inkinesss and Whites working together. The film takes topographic point in the South at the clip when American schools foremost became incorporate. The black football manager of the Titans did non let his freshly integrated football squad to project their racialist attitudes onto the squad. He forced his squad to unify as one and work together as a squad. By making this the Titans won a province football title and to boot combated racism. The squad achieved racial justness and harmoniousness. I believe that by utilizing these types of methods Martin Luther King is a better function theoretical account and his attack to stop racial unfairness serves the best involvement of the black community.