Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X are two of the most famous Black American Civil Right leaders who influenced the African-American's struggle for emancipation during their lifetimes and left even greater legacies after their premature deaths. The goals of both leaders were largely similar, i.e., emancipation of the black community but they had widely contrasting strategies for achieving them. This essay is a comparison of the messages of the two black leaders and their personalities.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of peace, and a passionate believer in Gandhian non-violence. He believed that under their skins the black and white people were the same and struggled most of his life to remove the barriers of segregation created by men of bigotry. (Norrell, 2002). Malcolm 'X' on the other hand was the quintessential radical, the Black Nationalist who did not believe that the white man would ever be persuaded to voluntarily allow an equal status to the black man. He did not desire de-segregation and taught...
He was, however, a man who went through many different phases in his life and towards the last years of his life toned down his message of violent confrontation with the white men and denounced the racist teachings of his former associates -- the Black Muslims. (Finkelman, 2002)
During the decade between the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm 'X' delivered widely contrasting messages on the theme of black emancipation. While King was ceaselessly endeavoring as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement to integrate the blacks into the mainstream of American life by removing the barriers of desegregation, Malcolm was doing exactly the opposite. He (Malcolm) believed that the Judeo-Christian religious traditions, on which Western culture is based, were inherently racist. He held the Christian church responsible for…
References
Finkelman, Paul. "Malcolm X" (2002). Article in Microsoft Encyclopedia Encarta, 2002
Malcolm Quotations." (2000) Official Web Site of Malcolm X Retrieved on December 7, 2002 from http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/quotes.html
Norrell, Robert J. (2002)."Martin Luther King Jr." Article in Microsoft Encyclopedia Encarta, 2002
Comparative Essay
Even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted that the Emancipation Proclamation promised more than it delivered. Both men knew that America had a long way to go before true freedom for African-Americans could be realized. Malcolm X dealt drugs and hung out with the underground African-American artists and musicians during the Harlem Renaissance, one of the greatest periods in African-American cultural history. This section of Malcolm X's Autobiography is one
Of course, it is also extremely important culturally that Malcolm's father was a minister who spoke out for Black rights, just as he became a minister and did the same thing. LEGAGY It would seem that a man as charismatic and determined would leave behind a legacy of children willing to follow his lead, but that is not really the case. Malcolm X fathered six daughters before his death. His wife
Malcolm X's contributions to the civil rights movement cannot be viewed in isolation, without taking into account his influences and contextual variables. By the time Malcolm X wrote his Autobiography, he had already developed a well-articulated and logical political philosophy. His influences as stated in his autobiography include Marcus Garvey, from where Malcolm X's father learned the ideas he passed onto his son. It was Elijah Muhammad and the Nation
That is, my religion is still Islam. My religion is still Islam. I still credit Mr. Mohammed for what I know and what I am" (427). His philosophy was no pro-violence, he merely believed that one should not turn the other cheek when one was colonized: "The political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community...The
Malcolm X: Director Spike Lee's Portrait Of An American Hero Malcolm X was not a man who could be easily characterized and the same is true for Spike Lee's 1992 film. Malcolm X was a labor of love for Lee, who was only thirty-five at the time of the film's release. Lee had been a young child when Malcolm X was assassinated, so his knowledge of the man was not based
..That's why black prisoners become Muslims so fast when Elijah Muhammed's teachings filter into their cages by way of other Muslim convicts. 'The white man is the devil' is a perfect echo of that black convict's lifelong experience." Prison solidified Malcolm X's -- and in his view, all African-Americans' -- position in society, and his faith clarified the predicament and gave an avenue both of understanding and of redress. Everyone's childhood, family,