| Essay, Research Paper
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X grew up in different
environments. King was raised in a comfortable middle-class family
where education was stressed. On the other hand, Malcolm X came from
and 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 Klu 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.
The early backgrounds of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were
largely responsible for the distinct different responses to American
racism. 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 achieve 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 integrationalist 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 travelled 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 childhoods 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
childhoods 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 natured 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 realised 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 emphasised 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 defence 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 Judgement 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 reappraised
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 instil
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.
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