Martin Luther Kings Strategy for Gaining Civil Rights - Term Paper Example

Martin Luther King’s strategy for gaining civil rights Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister and black civil rights leader. He was an adherent of the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, which advocated nonviolent civil disobedience. Martin Luther King contributed enormously to the attainment of civil rights to blacks in America. He was frequently harassed and violently targeted; moreover, the FBI kept him under surveillance, because the paranoid J. Edgar Hoover was convinced that Martin Luther King was a follower of communism (King, Martin Luther Jr. In The Great American History Fact-Finder). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, created history by supporting the civil rights movement. He used nonviolence as his weapon of protest; and his powerful oratory captured the attention of the Americans. He was successful in convincing many people to join in the movement against civil apartheid. This brought about the demise of segregation (Huang). He had faced a number of challenges in carrying out his lifelong mission to procure civil justice. His house was bombed by his opponents and he was imprisoned on several occasions. For instance, in 1963, King was arrested and jailed in Birmingham for a week on the charges of having disobeyed a court order that had banned protest marches. He continued his efforts to motivate people to fight against civil injustice after release from the jail. In one such demonstration, the racist Police Commissioner Eugene Connor instigated the predominantly, white police force to let loose dogs and to use water cannons against demonstrators. King successfully delivered a speech with his trademark powerful oratory, wherein he called upon the nation to implement equal justice to all the citizens of the US (Huang). The Constitution of the United States guarantees several rights to individuals, like the freedom of speech and assembly. Martin Luther King’s movement for civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s put those guarantees to the test. Martin Luther King employed nonviolent protests, like marches, sit – ins and rallies, to achieve social change. His main aim was to bring about equality for all people irrespective of their race. He adopted nonviolence as his strategy and his example has become the standard for a number of movements (Gonzalez). The Rosa Parks’ incident took place in the month of December, 1955. She was arrested and incarcerated for having refused to give her seat on a bus to a white person. This was in violation of the Alabama’s bus segregation legislation. This incident brought about the entry of Martin Luther King into the campaign for civil rights. He organized widespread protests and bus boycott programs, which lasted for more than a year. Eventually, the US Supreme Court ruled that Alabama’s segregation laws were unconstitutional (Huang). In August 1963, Martin Luther King addressed a large gathering of nearly two hundred thousand people in Washington. This extraordinary speech is the famous I Have a Dream speech. In the same year the Time magazine named him as the Man of the Year. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The culmination of these incidents was that Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act and in the year 1965, Congress ratified the Voting Rights Act (Huang). Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had been the pillars of the civil rights movement in the US. The exceptional power of and support for this movement shook the nation and impressed the rest of the world. The repercussions of that movement are evident even today. King and Malcolm belonged to the same age group, with a mere three years gap between them. They were assassinated within three years of each other and they were just thirty nine years old, when felled by white conspirators (Lewin). Malcolm X had become the most effective supporter of the Nation of Islam by the year 1953. He travelled to Africa and Mecca in 1959. Meanwhile Martin Luther King was established as a black leader in the US. Martin and Malcolm were unable to react in time to the upsurge in Southern black protests, which resulted from the students’ agitation including counter sit – ins of the 1965. Malcolm X criticized and disregarded this upsurge of nonviolent activism. He dismissed Martin Luther King’s ideology, which was based on non violence. He realized that the black rebellious groups would progress towards racial violence and Black Nationalism. Martin Luther King advocated nonviolent protests as they could usher in love and sympathy for blacks. Subsequently, Malcolm X, publicly criticized Martin Luther King and other national civil rights leaders, who had deliberately, restrained militancy. He advocated racial integrity rather than racial crisis (Carson). Martin Luther King was fully convinced that direct action in combination with nonviolence was the only effective means of protest for black people. He was of the opinion that Malcolm’s articulation was the demagogic oratory of the extremist political leaders who instigate violent revolutions. Martin Luther King disagreed with the rhetorical militancy of Malcolm X and held that it would not be useful for the African Americans. He was a strong advocate of nonviolence. Malcolm X’s verbal attacks against him disturbed him to a considerable extent (Carson). Malcolm X refused to accept Martin Luther King’s nonviolent and integrationist approach in procuring civil rights for black people in the US. Malcolm X seriously attempted to establish relations with black extremist activists. He sought the services and guidance of militant veterans of the southern civil rights movement and received inspiration from the southern rebellion. Malcolm X favored militancy and violence as the best means to politicize the Black Nationalist movement. He proceeded to Selma, Alabama in February 1965, while there was a fierce campaign for obtaining voting rights. His powerful oratory stimulated the black students. He was assassinated a few weeks later, on the 21st of February, 1965 (Carson). Although the strategies adopted by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were different, a large number of American black leaders felt that they had lost a potentially great leader in the death of the latter. Subsequent to the assassination of Malcolm X the American black people divided into two groups that supported either Martin Luther King or Malcolm X. Despite the difference in their approach, both of them had strived hard to build a strong black community. At the end of their lives, these two leaders understood that achieving a strong black African American community would achieve the ultimate goal of gaining civil rights to the black populace (Carson). Malcolm X opined that nonviolent measures could be employed militantly. He viewed them as essential factors for achieving the goal. Malcolm X was by nature a peaceful man and never committed violence to achieve his personal aims and goals. On the other hand Martin Luther King had adopted the principles of nonviolence and the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi of India. He used nonviolent tactics in his endeavor to achieve civil rights for the blacks (Carson). Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X viewed the problems of blacks from their personal perspectives, which were based on their experiences. They had a vision and had exercised their extraordinary leadership skills. They were outstanding orators, with vastly different backgrounds. Martin Luther King had insisted upon the importance of racial pride rather than racial crisis. In his opinion, African Americans would never get freedom until and unless they declared their own proclamation of emancipation. Malcolm X had grown up in poverty and experienced the problems of being poor and without any power. He exhorted and motivated the blacks to establish their identity in American society and reacted to the demands of the African Americans who were at the bottom of the US social order (Carson). Malcolm X had very little experience with black community institutions and he had little understanding of racism. As a youngster, he strived hard to live like a white man. In marked contrast to this, Martin Luther King had grown up in a completely black community. He had attended black schools and Morehouse College for education and had few white friends (Carson). American civil rights are synonymous with Martin Luther King Jr and his non violent opposition to racism, militarism and economic injustice was deep-seated. The black freedom movement had a profound effect on him and in turn his contribution to it was phenomenal. In the context of human rights, he drew upon various sources and principal amongst these were the doctrines of Gandhian Philosophy and the African American social gospel. Martin Luther King represented the strength of African American brotherhood and advocated unconditional love for all men. Therefore he condemned activities that would demean humanity. He aspired for cooperation and collaboration for the nonviolence. Their life had been terminated by an assassin’s bullet ( Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Malcolm X). The politicians and representatives of the white majority, who were in power, were frightened to compete with Malcolm and the support that he had. They resorted to negotiations with King, in order to resolve contentious issues. Initially, the government had been amicable to King, but subsequent to his condemnation of the Vietnam War, it distanced itself from him. The protection provided to King was withdrawn. As the movement reached its zenith, King expanded the demands from social equality to economic uniformity and he did not dissuade his supporters from adopting retaliatory measures against their critics, who were in power. Similarly, Malcolm also changed his opinion at the end of the movement. Both King and Malcolm were considered to be potential threats by the American government. They held similar views on African Americans and their principal objective was the improvement of the living standards of the blacks (Lewin). Malcolm X inspired the black people to build a powerful black community. He had adopted the means to achieve this goal such as voter registration and education, economic well being and the development of a unique political atmosphere. His movement paved the way for the emergence of international human rights (The Life of Malcolm X: African Sojourner, 1964). Malcolm X opined that all cultures should be treated with equality and dignity. He truly represented the archetypal African American. He strived hard to surmount the barriers in realizing his dreams. Malcolm believed that strong families would create strong communities. Therefore, he exhorted fortification of communities as well as societies. He strived hard to achieve equality for African Americans (ABOUT MALCOLM & MARTIN). The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King had adopted the principles of nonviolence, as preached by Mahatma Gandhi, the sage of India. He employed the tactics of non violence against the white regime. Malcolm X’s call was for an irate Black America. He approach was violent and he invented the phrase ‘by any means necessary’, which invoked violence. However, he never instigated racial attacks or rampages to achieve his goals. Although the ultimate aim of both Malcolm and King were the same, the latter adopted overt nonviolent protests whereas the former preferred violence. Initially, Malcolm was considered to be the enemy of the nation due to his rhetoric against white people and his advocacy of violence as a means of self defense. He inspired many black people to struggle for social equality (Dr Martin Luther King V Malcolm X: the past still part of the present ). Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries with the same vision. Their vision was civil rights for black people in the United States. Both of them experienced hatred from the Whites and they had witnessed violence against blacks. Despite these similarities, they chose different paths to achieve their vision of rights and freedom for black people. They aspired for the end of racism and strived hard for social equality. Whilst, Malcolm opted for hatred and violence against the white people; King preferred patience and tolerance and recommended peace with African American families to build community strength, which would bring about a positive black society (ABOUT MALCOLM & MARTIN). Works Cited Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Malcolm X. 26 August 2007. 12 February 2008 . ABOUT MALCOLM & MARTIN. 12 February 2008 . Carson, Clayborne. "The Unfinished Dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X." Magazine of History (January 2005): Vol. 19, Issue 1; P22. Dr Martin Luther King V Malcolm X: the past still part of the present . 6 February 2006. 12 February 2008 . Gonzalez, Clarisel. "Marching for a Cause." Scholastic News (January 14, 2008): Vol. 76, Iss. 13, P4. Huang, Carol. "His dream? Equality for all. ; Martin Luther King Jr. was a champion of civil rights, but he faced challenges and dangers." The Christian Science Monitor (January 9, 2007): P18. King, Martin Luther Jr. In The Great American History Fact-Finder. 2004. 5 February 2008 . Lewin, Dr Arthur N. Malcolm X vs. Martin Luther King. 17 January 2006. 12 February 2008 . The Life of Malcolm X: African Sojourner, 1964. 12 February 2008 . Read More