Life Experiences and Philosophies of Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X - Essay Example

English Life Experiences and Philosophies of Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X Dr. Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X are iconic black civil rights activities who fought to eradicate racism, which is described by Malcolm X as a cancer malevolent among Americans. This essay will be aimed at comparing and contrasting their life experiences and their philosophies. The beliefs of Martin Luther King Junior (Dr. King) will be defended since he is the leader this essay chooses to identify with. Pertaining to their life experiences, Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925 to Reverend Earl, and Louse little. He was brought up in a family that upheld dignity and ethnic awareness at a time that racism had started in a bid to curtail the enlightening of the blacks by preachers like reverend Earl. His upbringing saw him witness horrific experiences, his family being harassed, their house burned, threatened, and they were even shot at. His family was brought to their untimely death when he was six years old. He dropped out of school at fifteen years, adopted the livelihood of the streets, was jailed at twenty years following a conviction of burglary and was imprisoned till the age of twenty seven. It was during his imprisonment that he learnt the ways of Islam and upon his release in 1952; he was a changed man, a follower of Elijah Muhammad (Haley 1). However, Dr. King was born on 15th January 1929 in the City of Georgia to a Baptist minister James King and Albert. In a bid to uphold tradition, he was named after a role model Martin Luther. His u brining was not as horrifying as that of Malcolm X. He had the privilege to attain education and even go till college where he attained a degree in Sociology and his posting to Montgomery capital city of Alabama saw him make the first activist move against racism. This was illustrated when he represented the blacks in Montgomery in boycotting the Montgomery city bus lines (183 days) to protest the arrest of a black lady who declined to give up her seat for a white passenger. This saw the birth of a young Baptist preacher civil right activist in 1st December 1955(Martin Luther King, Jr.1-8). The life experiences of Malcolm X saw his transformation into Islam Nation. In contrast, Dr. King and other activists were jailed after planning to stage a demonstration in Birmingham. It was during this period that the philosophy of Dr. King against racism was empirically evident. He affirmed in a manifesto that he could not just relax in Atlanta and not worry about the injustices that blacks were facing in Birmingham. He conferred that the destiny of all blacks was intertwined and oppression on one group translated to oppression to all blacks. He documented in the manifesto that anyone who lived within the US boundaries could not be considered an outsider and hence their peaceful demonstration in Birmingham was justified (Martin Luther King, Jr.1-8). Prior to his conversion while Malcolm X was still under the guidance of Elijah Muhammad, he is stipulated to view America as the devil that needed to be brought down by Elijah, the god. He metaphorically described the oppression faced by the blacks as a dagger six feet deep a black man’s back. He asserted that it was illogic for the white to expect the blacks to celebrate if the dagger was wedged and was currently four feet deep. This illustrated by the brotherhood experienced by the white Islamic faithful. To him it was satirical as even if the dagger symbolizing oppression was removed, the scar would still be evident hence Americans would always have to pay for their actions (Haley 1). Contrast to the belief of Malcolm X, the leader this essay chooses to affiliate with, Dr. King was a staunch follower of Christianity. Though life provided him with the best opportunities, he did not give a blind eye to the injustices faced by blacks in the hands of the white Americans. Unlike Malcolm X who believed that it was only through violence that justice could be achieved, Dr. King believed that violence only propagated more violence. He theoretically based his philosophies on Jesus, and practically he was a mentee of the works of Gandhi. He was a believer of non- violence as the only real and equitable means to address racism in America. Consequently, Dr. King’s philosophies were also rooted in the works of Henry David Thoreau with reference to his essay “Civil Disobedience”. He was an activist of peaceful revolution who believed that it could only be achieved if people agreed to flout the undeserved laws by following their principles (Martin Luther King, Jr.1-8). Malcolm X served as a critic to the Christian America family. He voiced that the blacks could not be blamed for their actions and unrest against the white Americans. It was a defense strategy for them against the oppression they had experienced for a long time in the hands of the Americans. He figuratively presents America as Pharaoh of the Egyptian times who had enslaved the Israelites. When Pharaoh was told by God through his prophet Moses to let his people go, he did not obey. This led to God punishing Pharaoh and his people. Malcolm X stipulates the same fate befalling Americans if they did not quit oppressing the defenseless blacks (Haley 1). Contrast to the view that Malcolm X had of Pharaoh and the Israelites, Dr. King had the belief of a brighter future with hope. This is defended with his speech “I have a dream” that he gave in Washington on August 23, 1963 when he was fighting for the voter registration of black- Americans. He figuratively presents the oppression faced by the blacks as a bad cheque issued to them by the whites. He affirms this by describing it as having being bad due to the lack of sufficient funds, culminating to lack of access to social amenities by the black, lack of education, and oppression. I have a dream, portrays his optimism that blacks in American won’t be oppressed for long. He acknowledges that a time would come when his children, symbolic of the future generation would dine in the highest places without fear of oppression or prejudice. He instills hope in the blacks by avowing to them that they should not be led to believe that the bank (America) has insufficient funds (evidenced by the oppression they were currently facing). In their pursuit of equal appropriation of funds, he however acknowledged the need for peace as he envisions people of all colors holding hands and applauding, thanking God for giving them freedom (end of racism) at last (Martin Luther King, Jr.1-8). This is affirmed by Malcolm X who following the pilgrimage converted his name to El-Hajj Malik al-Shabazz. He spoke of the brotherhood he had experienced during the pilgrimage that made his restructure his strategy. He asserts of the oneness that was experienced by the Islamic faith and descried that if only Americans could view each other as coming from one God, then racism would be history. It was only through the oneness of God that the oneness of man could be respected and the white Americans could quit hindering, and controlling the lives of others on the basis of their color. He described peace as a phenomenon that was mostly talked of, but would always be a mirage if unity could not be achieved at the smallest unity of the society and this was the first step in generating peace in any society. His philosophies attributed to him meeting his untimely death as he was assassinated in New York on February 21, 1965 two months to his 40th birthday symbolic of maturity in Islam (Haley 1). Dr. King’s philosophies saw him get recognized by being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964 at the age of 35 years. He was the youngest man to ever receive the award. The award was bestowed on him due to his unrelenting quest for equity in a violent free manner in a bid to eliminate racism in America. Prior to his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee during a campaign in support of city sanitation workers, he gave a speech that foretold the predicament of his longevity. In defense of his beliefs, in his last speech he asserted that he was at the mountain top where God wanted him to be and he was not afraid of any man. He was filled with optimism that even though he was not going to see the Promised Land, he knew his children would live to see it. This served as an insider to his untimely death that culminated to his assassination that day. Dr. King was assassinated on 4th April 1968 in Memphis and died eight months prior to his 40th birthday (Martin Luther King, Jr. 1-8). In conclusion, Malcolm X asserts that his goal was similar to that of Dr. King. He affirms that in their quest to reduce racism, they were both viewed as agents advocating for violence and were considered militants. He acknowledged that their tactics were different, but they were both aimed at saving the black man from the oppression by the white man as all individuals are equal before the eyes of God. In a fore fetched statement, he avowed that between him and Dr. King, one of them would precede the other in meeting their catastrophic end. He tells apart himself from Dr. King by describing himself as the “violent” me and the “non- violent” Dr. King (Haley 1). Though the two civic rights great black men (Malcolm X and Dr. King) did not live to see the fruits of their labor, they are heroes of the 20th century. Each of them through their diverse philosophies culminated to a reduction in racism as is evidently portrayed in America in the 21st century. Work cited Haley Alex. (n.d). The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Grove Press and Yusuf Siddiqui, Malcolm X: Why I embraced Islam. Web. November 7, 2011. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1964, 1-8. Web. November 7, 2011. Read More