Comparing Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr - Essay Example

? COMPARING MALCOLM X AND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR COMPARING MALCOLM X AND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR Introduction If the United States has its first Black president today, it is not because the first for equal rights and justices, and the fight for equality among all, regardless of racial background started just a decade back. The fact remains that the successes of today’s wind of equality and respect for racial differences started centuries with the activities of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the mid-20th century being very key among the struggle. There is a common saying that no two people are exactly the same. This saying can easily be proven when we want to discuss two people who represented the same ideology in history such as Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who both represented the liberation and freedom of the Black race in America. Indeed, as much as there were some aspects of similarities in the way they went about advocacy programs, there also exists so much lines of differences for what they lived for (Haberman, 1972). In this paper, Malcolm X is compared with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to understand the various perspectives from which each of them approached the fight for the protection of human rights, which they both loved to do greatly. The perspectives from which the comparison shall be taken from are in the areas of political goals, economic issues, and strategic approaches. Political Goals Politically, it has been noted that both King and Malcolm were pressing to achieve the same goal, which was the goal of all inclusiveness in the running and administration of public political office. It is not surprising therefore that at a time that not much of open air and public politicking was associated with acts of religiosity both men came out of their shelves to strongly campaign for political equableness (Malcolm, 1964). Historian, Breitman (1991) has said that both Malcolm and King were examples of a perfect combination of religiosity with political leadership in a manner that could make everyone appreciate the fact that politics is not a dirty game but a game for all the people. In line with the above, it can also be established that politically, both Malcolm and King had a goal of proving to the world that service to God could not be complete and appreciated if social and economic equality was not achieved for all people regardless of their racial background. This is because in their private practice as ministers of the Gospel, both men understood the oneness in God’s creation and view of humankind, where there was not supposed to be discrimination of people based on whether they were Jews or Gentiles (King, 1967). With this biblical understanding of the view of God about all men, the leaders wanted there to be a political reflection of such whereby people will not be judged based on the color of their skin but the content of their character as King declared. Economic Issues Economically, both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a common goal of liberating the oppressed and abused American from poverty. This is because through words and deeds, Malcolm and King showed that they lived for an era and moment in time when the poverty that the various forms of discrimination had brought on people could be minimized (Haberman, 1972). However in terms of approach to economic issues, the two men have been identified to have had two contrasting perspectives and opinions as to how the approach should be. For instance it has been said that Malcolm had a realization that even though economic liberation and the eradication of poverty among the discriminated, such the African-American people was necessary, it was also very necessary that the African-American people built self-consciousness and pride for themselves (Malcolm, 1963). What this means is that Malcolm saw the answer to economic liberation in the African-American people themselves, through their attitude towards self-consciousness, rather than through total dependence on government to come up with economic intervention. King however did not agree much to this line of reasoning because in the opinion of King as recorded in the accounts of Breitman (1991), King blamed the plight of the African-American wholly on the government, which was a White dominated government and thus the need for economic interventions to come directly from the government. To this effect, most of the traveling and diplomatic calls that King engaged in were focused on how the larger world would come to sympathize with the discriminated society that lived among the larger American society (King, 1967b). Strategic Approaches It is a fact that when talks of differences between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther Jr. are raised, the commonest area that most people look at is the strategic approaches used by the two men in addressing most of the issues they sought to press for as discussed above. Indeed, there could be much justification for this situation because in terms of strategic approaches, the two men presented two different formula to attaining equal rights and justice for all. Though both were religious and had backgrounds as religious leaders, it was the approach that was used by King that was more exemplifying of the quietness and diplomatic representation of his religious background. This is because instead of resorting to violence, which in itself, King knew could bring about serious repercussions and negative impacts on the people, King used diplomacy, backed by the need to vote on and discuss issues of human rights and freedom. As a principle, Breitman (1991) has identified King as believing in an order of strategic approach, whereby if the people were convinced through nurturing, of the need for there to be equal rights and justice; all would approach the goal on their own personal intuition. As with Malcolm X however, there was a deliberate attempt by powers as it may to refuse the dream of oneness from being realized and thus the need to replace force with persuasion. Malcolm thus preferred a more radical approach to pressing home the need for fairness, arguing that violence is the only language that government had showed through its actions that it understood. From the letters of Malcolm from Saudi Arabia, it would be noted that having had an experience of the possibility of people from different backgrounds to peacefully coexist, Malcolm realized that the gap between America and Saudi Arabia in for storing oneness was farfetched that it could only take radical approaches to bring it to fruition (Malcolm, 1963). Conclusion From the discussions above, several important key notes have been created of the personalities, perceptions and practices of two of America’s most important civil rights advocates, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Generally, it can be said that the efforts of these personalities, however diversifying it was in their approaches, contributed to the kind of America that exists today, where even though there may be pockets of racial discriminations, there is much respect for racial differences and overall respect for human rights than there was before (Haberman, 1972). From primary documents and secondary documents relating to the activities of these men, it can generally be concluded that Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. was more of a conservative who believed that changes with civil rights protection had to happen in a more sporadic manner. To this end, even though his approach was more gentle and reserved, the changes he wanted to see were not so. Malcolm X on the other hand was more radical with his personality as well as his approach to change. But all in all, the two men were looking at the same coin but from different sides. As the discussion for a more unified America goes on, it is perhaps important to have another pounder over the personalities and styles of these two great to determine which of them will take America to the paradise it most desire for itself as a nation. Cited Works Breitman, George ed., Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. 1991. Print. Haberman, Frederick W. Nobel Lectures, Peace 1951-1970, Amsterdam: Elsevler Publishing Company. 1972. Print. King Martin L. A Time to Break the Silence. 1967. Web. November 13, 2013 King Martin L. Where do we go from here? 1967(b). Web. November 14, 2013. Malcolm X. Ballot or the Bullet? 1964. Web. November 13, 2013 Malcolm X. Message to the Grassroot. 1963. Web. November 14, 2013 Read More