Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Seale - Research Paper Example

Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Bobby Seale were all important to the Civil Rights Movement. Many individuals followed these men in their efforts. All three men promoted equal rights differently. Martin Luther King Jr. founded with other civil rights advocates the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Malcolm X was affiliated with the Nation of Islam until breaking with the movement. Bobby Seale was one of the founding members of the Black Panthers. The similarity between the men is basically the fight for the equal rights in the Civil Rights Movement.

The difference was the way each man promoted equal rights. Martin Luther King Jr. thought peaceful resistance was the way. He led boycotts to fight Jim Crow laws. He believed in integration. Malcolm X preached hate and segregation from the ‘white devils’. He wanted equal rights without integration. Bobby Seale believed in action. He protected his neighborhood through violence. The Black Panthers incited riots, most notably at the Democratic Convention. Another major difference that impacted each man’s views was religion.

King was Christian. Malcolm X was a Muslim. Bobby Seale did not really have a religion. The Black Panthers followed a more Marxist path. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both assassinated. Bobby Seale is still alive. King and Seale came from the South, but Malcolm X came from the North. King and Seale had fathers that worked and homemaker mothers. Malcolm X was from a broken home and even ended up in foster care. Seale served in the military, but the other two did not. The SCLC helped the Civil Rights Movement most in terms of gathering positive attention to the cause.

The Nation of Islam inspired a fear in both black and white Americans. The Black Panthers incited violence that led to the gangs of today.