Martin Luther King and Malcolm X - Essay Example

Introduction

In the United States, there has been a lot of discrimination against black citizens for centuries because of the ingrained social stratification since the slavery times. Due to the dehumanizing nature of the discrimination, some black leaders led the liberation movement with the objective of fighting for the African American rights. Some of the most popular leaders of the black liberation movement were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King was an African American preacher who led the civil rights movement in America. Due to his Christian beliefs, he advocated for non-violent means of resistance. On the other hand, Malcolm X was an African American Muslim preacher who said as long as peaceful means were not bearing fruit, violence was justified in the fight for better conditions for black Americans. While they had different approaches to opposing the conflict, they both had a major impact in the struggle for the end of racism. In fact, their impact continues to be felt today. This essay critically analyzes their impact and concludes the one that had a greater impact on the liberation struggle in America. It is clear that Martin Luther King was more effective in his style of pressing for better conditions for the blacks in the United States than Malcolm X, mainly because of his suggestion to use non-violent protest.

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia (Asselin, 2014, p. 91). He was one of the most vocal leaders of the civil rights movement in America, and his impact was felt for the first time when he organized the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 (Burns, 1997, p. 3). He is best remembered for insisting that the liberation struggle should be devoid of any violence, an aspect largely supported by his role as a preacher. Luther and other civil rights leaders founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and served as its founding president. He used this movement to stage a major struggle against segregation in Georgia in 1962 and also organized a greatly attended peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. His most successful march was the 1963 March on Washington, where he made his famous ‘I Have Dream” speech. His efforts in the civil rights movement were recognized when, in 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The world took a lot of notice in his insistence on non-violent means of resistance, and this Prize itself gave the liberation struggle a moral authority that it needed so much. Later, he expanded his campaign to cover more states in America, especially those areas that were experiencing increased cases of racial discrimination. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 while planning a major protest in Washington DC. It is obvious that he died due to his efforts to oppose discrimination.

In addition to the non – violent nature of his protests, King was also hailed for the tight control he exercised over his followers. He made it clear that not all white people were to blame and that there were some white people who joined the protests. This is what led to a lot of support towards his initiatives, and he managed to convince even the American government to grant the movement some support. He said that part of his peaceful resistance was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, and he even traveled to India and met a man called Gandhi to understand the way non-violent protests were organized there. Gandhi’s teachings, which insisted that it was possible to defeat segregation without violence, greatly fascinated King (Wolpert 2002, p. 264).

Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born on 19th May 1925 in Nebraska, and his original name was Malcolm Little (Draper, 2002, p. 14). His father was a leader in a Negro movement, which gave Malcolm X early exposure to liberation activities. Malcolm X later reported that some of his father’s friends were killed by white men. This exposure to racial inequalities and violence prepared him for his future role as a liberation hero. His family relocated in the 1920s to Milwaukee, then to Lansing, Michigan; partly to escape from the violence carried out by the Ku Klux Clan. But the escape did not provide much of a reprieve, as their new home was burnt down by a white supremacy group. His father died in a motor accident, which his mother blamed the same group.

The situation greatly disturbed the Malcolm X, who was then only six years old. His mother developed a nervous breakdown and was put in a mental care facility. The children were sent off to live in foster homes. Malcolm X excelled in school but dropped out when his teacher told him that his career aspiration of practicing law was unrealistic for a black man. He later said that he dropped out because it was clear that the education system, which was controlled by the white man, offered no chance of success for a black child even if he was extremely intelligent and talented. Once out of school, he takes up some jobs to meet his basic needs. He later moved to New York, in the Harlem neighborhood, where he engaged in drugs, gambling, and crime. He was denied a chance to join the army after reportedly telling the recruitment officer that he wanted to organize the black soldiers to steal some guns and kill some people. Later, he went to Boston where he engaged in more crime that targeted the white people. He was arrested, charged, and jailed for eight years (Parterson, Wiloughby, and Wiloughby, 2001 p. 163).

While in prison, he read about Islam, converted, and started following the religion’s principles. He was paroled in 1952 and became a great Muslim leader, who recruited many to follow the Nation of Islam organization. He married Betty Sanders in 1958, and they had six daughters. By this time, his influence in the group Nation of Islam had grown so much that the FBI began surveillance on him. He made no secret about his dislike for white people, whom he referred to as ‘devils.' He also advocated for the total separation of blacks from any white man's activities and said that those who were participating in any such activities were stooges of the white man. He even criticized Martin Luther King's style of protest, calling it weak and inconsequential.

By this time, Malcolm X had become a prominent leader and preacher and was one of the most notable figures in Nation of Islam, a group that he tried to take over and control. His plan was to turn the group into a force to fight for the rights of black Americans. A lot of white people and even some blacks were alarmed at the message he was preaching, saying he was propagating hate and making it difficult for the peaceful coexistence of the races. Later, a lot of differences developed between him and the leader of Nation of Islam, partly due to Malcolm’s radical preaching. In addition, Malcolm was receiving more attention in the media than the leader. Malcolm X was also unhappy that the group’s leader failed to speak out against some of the events X considered most discriminatory, like the police invasion of a mosque, in which some black men are killed. He quit the group and later joined the Sunni Muslim sect. His influence grew so much that he visited a number of countries across the world giving speeches, especially on the liberation of black people. On 21st February 1965, he was assassinated, and the Nation of Islam was suspected (Mjagkij, 2013, p. 310).

A Comparison of the Two Leaders

The only similarity between the two leaders is their background, both being religious leaders in the black community in the USA. Their approaches to the effort of fighting discrimination were very different. King was more effective in his freedom marches than Malcolm X, mainly because of his peaceful protests. Malcolm X may have had noble intentions of achieving equality between the races, but his style of confrontation and his support for violence alienated even some of the fellow blacks and weakened his moral authority to criticize the whites. With Time, King became a symbol of the unification of the races in the U.S., while X symbolized separation and total segregation (Emerson, 2010, p. 187).

In fact, it only served to increase the hatred that existed between the races, which was not offering any respite for the millions of mistreated black people. On the other hand, King helped bring reconciliation between the races. It was significant that a number of white Americans joined in the marches organized by Martin Luther King, which proved that as much as he was vocal in denouncing the discrimination against black Americans, he did not encourage hatred against the whites. On the other hand, Malcolm X denounced the discrimination against black Americans but supported the use of violent means in the struggle, which alienated many people.

Malcolm X also singled out every white as an enemy and went ahead to refer to the white Americans as devils. His actions made it impossible for any white Americans to support his movement, despite the fact that some may have been against any form of discrimination on racial grounds. He made it clear that whites and blacks could not coexist and encouraged blacks to separate themselves from the whites (Emerson, 2010, p. 187). He was even fascinated by the idea of all blacks leaving the United States and relocating in Africa, where they would live happily without the mistreatment they were receiving from the whites, an idea many considered unrealistic (Polednak, 1997, p. 4).

Another indication of the greater success for Martin Luther King’s style of protest was the recognition of his efforts by the global community. The first of these was the reception of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Notably, he was the youngest recipient of this prize, aged thirty-five. This prize was awarded in recognition of his non-violent protest, which was winning support from people across the world. But even more significant was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was the highest award that a civilian citizen of the United States would receive at the time (Carter, 1981, p. 1057). It is interesting to note that he was awarded the medal a white president, which shows that his approach had an effect on the white citizens. His other major accomplishment was in getting the government to agree to the right for black citizens to vote, which was a direct result of the pressure he mounted on it using his marches. This was considered a major milestone in the restoration of the rights of the black citizens (Kirk, 2013, p. 98).

Conclusion

The two leaders focused on the same problem, which was the racial relationship between whites and blacks in America at that time. However, they chose different systems of tackling the problem, which resulted in different results. In fact, there is almost no similarity in their perspectives on how to fight discrimination. Moreover, while King was fully for peaceful means, Malcolm X advocated a totally militant system of protest. In addition, King embraced the white men and encouraged his followers to do so, which earned him a lot of respect among the whites. Some of the white Americans even joined in his protests. On the other hand, Malcolm X deemed all white people as enemies and even asked his followers to totally keep off any company and activities of the whites. There was little, if any, support for his style of resistance from the white Americans. It is clear that of the two, King managed to achieve more results with his style. After all, he influenced many people and even received many awards for his peaceful efforts.

Reference List

Asselin, KC 2014. Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil Rights Leader, ABDO Publishing Company, North Mankato.

Burns, S 1997. Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.

Carter, J 1981. Public Papers of the President of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

Best Books on.

Draper, AS 2002. The Assassination of Malcolm X, The Rosen Publishing Company, New York.

Emerson, MD 2010. People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United

States, Oxford University Press, Princeton and Oxford.

Kirk, JA 2013. Martin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Rights Movement. Routledge, London and New York.

Mjagkij, N. 2013. Organizing Black America, Garland Publishing, Inc, New York.

Parterson, D., Wiloughby, S. and Wiloughby D. 2001. Civil rights in the USA, 1863-

1980. Heinemann, Oxford.

Polednak, AP 1997. Segregation, Poverty and Mortality in Urban African

Americans. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Wolpert, S. 2002. Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi,

Oxford, University Press Oxford.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born on 19th May 1925 in Nebraska, and his original name was Malcolm Little (Draper, 2002, p. 14). His father was a leader in a Negro movement, which gave Malcolm X early exposure to liberation activities. Malcolm X later reported that some of his father’s friends were killed by white men. This exposure to racial inequalities and violence prepared him for his future role as a liberation hero. His family relocated in the 1920s to Milwaukee, then to Lansing, Michigan; partly to escape from the violence carried out by the Ku Klux Clan. But the escape did not provide much of a reprieve, as their new home was burnt down by a white supremacy group. His father died in a motor accident, which his mother blamed the same group.

The situation greatly disturbed the Malcolm X, who was then only six years old. His mother developed a nervous breakdown and was put in a mental care facility. The children were sent off to live in foster homes. Malcolm X excelled in school but dropped out when his teacher told him that his career aspiration of practicing law was unrealistic for a black man. He later said that he dropped out because it was clear that the education system, which was controlled by the white man, offered no chance of success for a black child even if he was extremely intelligent and talented. Once out of school, he takes up some jobs to meet his basic needs. He later moved to New York, in the Harlem neighborhood, where he engaged in drugs, gambling, and crime. He was denied a chance to join the army after reportedly telling the recruitment officer that he wanted to organize the black soldiers to steal some guns and kill some people. Later, he went to Boston where he engaged in more crime that targeted the white people. He was arrested, charged, and jailed for eight years (Parterson, Wiloughby, and Wiloughby, 2001 p. 163).

While in prison, he read about Islam, converted, and started following the religion’s principles. He was paroled in 1952 and became a great Muslim leader, who recruited many to follow the Nation of Islam organization. He married Betty Sanders in 1958, and they had six daughters. By this time, his influence in the group Nation of Islam had grown so much that the FBI began surveillance on him. He made no secret about his dislike for white people, whom he referred to as ‘devils.' He also advocated for the total separation of blacks from any white man's activities and said that those who were participating in any such activities were stooges of the white man. He even criticized Martin Luther King's style of protest, calling it weak and inconsequential.

By this time, Malcolm X had become a prominent leader and preacher and was one of the most notable figures in Nation of Islam, a group that he tried to take over and control. His plan was to turn the group into a force to fight for the rights of black Americans. A lot of white people and even some blacks were alarmed at the message he was preaching, saying he was propagating hate and making it difficult for the peaceful coexistence of the races. Later, a lot of differences developed between him and the leader of Nation of Islam, partly due to Malcolm’s radical preaching. In addition, Malcolm was receiving more attention in the media than the leader. Malcolm X was also unhappy that the group’s leader failed to speak out against some of the events X considered most discriminatory, like the police invasion of a mosque, in which some black men are killed. He quit the group and later joined the Sunni Muslim sect. His influence grew so much that he visited a number of countries across the world giving speeches, especially on the liberation of black people. On 21st February 1965, he was assassinated, and the Nation of Islam was suspected (Mjagkij, 2013, p. 310).

A Comparison of the Two Leaders

The only similarity between the two leaders is their background, both being religious leaders in the black community in the USA. Read More