Martin King And Malcolm X
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X two men vying for the same outcome but
each at
opposite sides of the spectrum. King was raised in a comfortable
middle-class
family where education was stressed. On the other hand, Malcolm
X came from an
underprivileged home. He was a self-taught man who received
little schooling and
rose to greatness on his own intelligence and
determination. Martin Luther King
was born into a family whose name in
Atlanta was well established. Despite
segregation, Martin Luther King's
parents ensured that their child was secure
and happy. Malcolm X was born on
May 19, 1925 and was raised in a completely
different atmosphere than King,
an atmosphere of fear and anger where the seeds
of bitterness were planted.
The burning of his house by the Ku Klux Klan
resulted in the murder of his
father. His mother later suffered a nervous
breakdown and his family was
split up. He was haunted by this early nightmare
for most of his life. From
then on, he was driven by hatred and a desire for
revenge. Each mans
childhood upbringing I believe was responsible for their
later assault on
Civil Rights Both men ultimately became towering icons of
contemporary
African-American culture and had a great influence on black
Americans.
However, King had a more "positive" attitude than Malcolm
X, believing
that through peaceful demonstrations and arguments, blacks will be
able to
someday procure full equality with whites. Malcolm X's despair about
life was
reflected in his angry, pessimistic belief that equality is
impossible
because whites have no moral conscience. King basically adopted on
an
intergrationalist philosophy, whereby he felt that blacks and whites
should be
united and live together in peace. Malcolm X, however, promoted
nationalist and
separatist doctrines. For most of his life, he believed that
only through
revolution and force could blacks attain their rightful place in
society. Both X
and King spread their message through powerful, hard-hitting
speeches.
Nevertheless, their intentions were delivered in different
styles and purposes.
"King was basically a peaceful leader who urged
non-violence to his
followers. He traveled about the country giving speeches
that inspired black and
white listeners to work together for racial harmony."
(pg. 135, Martin
Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Movement) Malcolm X, for
the most part, believed
that non-violence and integration was a trick by the
whites to keep blacks in
their places. He was furious at white racism and
encouraged his followers
through his speeches to rise up and protest against
their white enemies. After
Malcolm X broke away from Elijah Mohammed,
this change is reflected in his more
moderate speeches. Malcolm X and Martin
Luther King's childhood's had powerful
influences on the men and their
speeches. Malcolm X was brought up in an
atmosphere of violence. During his
childhood, Malcolm X suffered not only from
abuse by whites, but also from
domestic violence. His father beat his mother and
both of them abused their
children. His mother was forced to raise eight
children during the
depression. After his mother had a mental breakdown, the
children were all
placed in foster homes. Malcolm X's resentment was increased
as he suffered
through the ravages of integrated schooling. Although an
intelligent student
who shared the dream of being a lawyer with Martin Luther
King, Malcolm
X's anger and disillusionment caused him to drop out of school. He
started to
use cocaine and set up a burglary ring to support his expensive
habit.
Malcolm X's hostility and promotion of violence as a way of getting
change
was well established in his childhood. Martin Luther King lived in
an
entirely different environment. He was a smart student and skipped two
grades
before entering an ivy league college at only the age of 15. He was
the class
valedictorian with an A average. King paraded his graduation
present in a new
green Chevrolet before his fellow graduates. He was raised
in the perfect
environment where dreams and love were generated. King and X's
childhood's are
"a study in polarity." (pg. 254, Reflecting Black) Whereas,
Malcolm X
was raised in nightmarish conditions. King's home was almost
dream-like. He was
raised in a comfortable middle-class home where strong
values matured his sense
of self-worth. Sure, many have admired Malcolm X and
Martin Luther King for the
way that they preached. "Both King and Malcolm X
promoted self-knowledge
and respect for one's history and culture as the
basis for unity." (pg.
253, Reflecting Black.) Other than the fact that
they were similar in some ways,
they also had many differences that people
admired, both in belief and speech.
Malcolm X, in many ways, was known to
many as an extremist. For most of the time
that he spent as an Islamic
minister, he preached about separatism between
blacks and whites. He also
preached about black nationalism, and as some would
call it, "black
supremacy," (reporter from Malcolm X movie). Malcolm X
had been misled all
through his life. This can be shown especially at the time
when he broke away
from the black Muslim party, because he realized that they
were misleading
him by telling him that separatism between blacks and whites is
the only way
to go. They also misled him by telling him that separatism is a
part of the
Islamic religion. Malcolm X's life was known to many as a nightmare
because
he was abused and haunted by both blacks and whites. Malcolm X blamed
many of
the conditions that blacks in the United States lived in on the
whites.
He also talked about how the white man still sees the black man
as a slave.
Martin Luther King appeared to many as calm and idealistic.
Many say his
calmness came from his peaceful, middle-class life. For
instance, King preached
about equality for blacks and whites. He also
preached about getting this
equality through a non violent way. King's
popularity was more than any other
black leader's popularity. "King urged
blacks to win their rightful place
in society by gaining self-respect, high
moral standards, hard work and
leadership. He also urged blacks to do this in
a non-violent matter," (pg.
255, Reflecting Black) The difference is in
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King's
backgrounds had a direct influence on
their later viewpoints. As a black youth,
Malcolm X was rebellious and
angry. He blamed the poor social conditions that
blacks lived in on the
whites. "His past ghetto life prepared him to reject
non-violence and
integration and to accept a strong separatist philosophy as the
basis for
black survival," (Internet, Malcolm X anniversary). He even
believed at one
time that whites were agents of the devil. As a result,
"Malcolm X
recommended a separatist and nationalist strategy for black
survival," (pg.
57, Malcolm X: The man and his times) He believed that only
through violence
would conditions change. He saw no evidence that white society
had any moral
conscience and promoted the role of the angry black against
racist
America. King's philosophies presented a sharp contrast to those
of Malcolm X.
He believed that through hard work, strong leadership, and
non-violent tactics,
blacks could achieve full equality with whites. His
belief in non-violence even
extended to a woman who nearly killed him. He was
reported as saying,
"don't persecute her, get her healed," (pg. 52, Martin
Luther King Jr.
and the Freedom Movement). Near the end of their lives,
Martin Luther King and
Malcolm X's beliefs became more similar. Malcolm X
corrected himself after his
break with the black Muslim movement. He now
emphasized unity and change through
black pride and respect for oneself
rather than through hate and revenge. King,
on the other hand, became
somewhat angry at the lack of progress made on
equality. He started promoting
non-violent sabotage, which including blocking
the normal functioning of
government. At one time, Malcolm X actually wanted
"to join forces with King
and the progressive elements of the Civil Rights
Movement," (pg. 262,
Malcolm X: The man and his times). To many, King and
Malcolm X were
heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. However, many have also seen
that King
was more pessimistic, while Malcolm X was more optimistic about
separatism
for most of his life. Some have said that later on in their lives,
they had
taken the opposite roles and changed. The speeches of King and X
reflected
both men's visions on improving America. Both men believed that if
blacks
were to attain freedom, they first needed to achieve
self-respect.
However, Malcolm X's speeches were delivered in a
revolutionary tone which could
incite his listeners to hatred of white
America. Malcolm X used direct and to
the point language which could be
understood by all levels of society. "He
had mastery in language and could
project his ideas," (Internet, Remember
Malcolm X) This creativity in
language helped build the Black Muslim Movement in
the United States. In his
"Definition of a Revolution" speech,
delivered in November 1963, Malcolm X
openly justifies violence as a way of
gaining equality. "And if it is right
for America to draft us and teach us
how to be violent in defense of the
country, then isn't it right for you and me
to do whatever is necessary to
defend our own people right here in this
country," (pg. 253, Malcolm X: The
man and his times). He encouraged blacks
to hate white America and to revolt
against them. "Revolution is bloody,
revolution is hostile, revolution knows
no compromise, revolution overturns and
destroys everything that gets in its
way," (pg. 255, Malcolm X: The man and
his times). In his speech "God's
Judgment of White America", delivered
on December 1, 1963, Malcolm X again
promoted his separatist philosophy.
"America must set aside some separate
territory here in the Western
Hemisphere where the two races can live
apart from each other, since we
certainly don't get along peacefully while we
are here together," (pg. 287,
Malcolm X: The man and his times) After
Malcolm X's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964,
he reappraisal white America and
modified somewhat his racist and anti-white
beliefs. This change is reflected
in his "Communication and Reality"
spoken to the American Domestic Peace
Corps. "I am against any form of
racism. We are all against racism. I believe
in Allah. I believe in the
brotherhood of man, all men, but I do not believe
in the brotherhood with
anybody who does not want brotherhood with me," (pg.
289, Malcolm X: The
man and his times) Martin Luther King was an equally
strong speaker. However,
most of his speeches were given to encourage white
and black people to work
together for racial harmony. He especially wanted to
teach impressionable black
youth that equality could be gained through
non-violent methods. These ideals
are reflected in his famous "I have a
dream" speech, where King
addressed to over 250 000 people. In this speech,
King urges black people to
never forget their dreams. King preaches that in
the eyes of God, the blacks are
as good as any other race and should be
treated as equals. "I have a dream
that one day every valley will be exalted,
every hill and mountain shall be made
low, the rough places shall be made
plain, and the crooked places shall be made
straight, and the glory of the
lord shall be revealed, and all shall see it
together," (Internet, Martin
Luther King's I Have a Dream speech) Unlike
Malcolm X, King does not
incite his followers to riot and hate, but encourages
his followers to
remember that all people are God's children and that hopefully
one day all
American can join together to sing "My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of
liberty, of thee I sing." King's eventual disillusionment
became because of
the lack of success the blacks were making in America. This
discomfort is
reflected in his "A time to break the silence" speech.
In this speech, he
openly condemns American involvement in the Vietnam war. He
preaches that
America should solve its own racial and social problems before
sending
vulnerable young men, especially black men, to fight other country's
battles.
"So we have been respectfully forced with the cruel irony of
watching Negroes
and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for
a nation that
has been unable to sit them together in the same schools,"
(Internet, A time
to break the silence speech) Malcolm X and Martin Luther King
are both
remembered as leaders who fought for a difference in black America.
Both
tried to bring hope to blacks in the United States. They also tried
to
instill within blacks power and strength so they could rise above all the
hatred
that surrounded them, but both of them had very different ways of
promoting
their message. Malcolm X had a much more extremist approach. Many
say that this
approach came from his neglectful childhood and early
adulthood. King had a much
more calm approach. Some have said that this
non-violent approach came from his
safe, middle- class environment. Even
though they were different in addressing
their messages about black respect
and pride, they both had the same goal in
mind. That goal was to achieve
equality between all races.