Malcom X v. Martin Luther King Jr.
Comparison of Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcom XThey were black men who had a dream, but never lived to see it fulfilled. One was a man who spoke out to all humanity, but the world was not yet ready for his peaceful words. "I have a dream, a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed... that all men are created equal." (Martin Luther King) The other, a man who spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change for the black race. "Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if you're not ready to get involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means we'll have to change you." (Malcom X) While Martin Luther King promoted non-violence, civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, a man of the name of Malcom X dreamed of a separate nation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the conscience of his generation. A Southerner, a black man, he gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to free all people from the bondage of separation and inju
Where as King was full of love, peace, respect, and compassion for his fellow white brother, Malcom X was full of hate, anger, and vengeance. He was a dark presence, an angry, cynical, implacable man whose good will or forgiveness or even pity the white race could neither earn nor buy. "Coffee," he once remarked in an interview, "is the only thing I like integrated." He also pleasantly mentioned that whites were inherently enemies of the Negroes and that integration was impossible without great bloodletting. Nonviolence was as he put it, "a mealy-mouth, beg-in, wait-in, plead-in kind of action," and it was only a device for disarming the blacks. He also believed that everything we had heard to the contrary from the Martin Luther Kings and the Roy Wilkinses and the Whiteny Youngs was a deadly dangerous pack of lies. "That's etiquette," he said. "Etiquette means to blend in with society. They are being polite. The average Negro doesn't even let another Negro know what he thinks, he's so mistrusting. I'm black first- my whole objectives are black, my allegiance is black, my whole objectives are black. By me being a Muslim, I'm not interested in American, because America has never been interested in me." (Goldman, pg.5) Martin Luther King was born in Alanta, Georgia, the eldest son of Martin Luther King, Sr., a Baptist minister, and Alberta Williams King. King attended local segregated public schools, where he excelled. He entered nearby Morehouse College at age 15 and graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology in 1948. After graduating with honors from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951, he went to Boston University where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955. ("King, Martin Luther, Jr.," pg.1) Perhaps the key to these two African-Americans leaders opposing goals lay within their very different pasts. Malcom X was born in Omaha as Malcom Little. Malcom's faith, a Baptist minister was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey, the black nationalist leader of the 1920's. The family moved to Lansing, Michigan, and when Malcom was six years old, his father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Malcom's mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her eight children were taken by the welfare department. Malcom was sent first to a foster home and then to a reform school. After 8th grade, Malcom moved to Boston where he worked various jobs and eventually became involved in criminal activity. (Malcom X, pg.1) Martin Luther King is known fo
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Approximate Word count = 1690
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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