Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Comparison - Essay Example

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Comparison INTRODUCTION Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were of those significant individuals who have immensely influenced the philosophical mindset of the Americans during era of the society’s mayhems in the 20th century (Harvey). Both of them were highly recognized leaders of the African-American people whose goal is at a point of convergence; that is “to end exploitation, discrimination, and racism” (Moritz). Racism, as a heavy issue during their time, similarly enabled the two leaders to have unfavorable feeling and treatment towards the whites. Yet, amid their being part of the same oppressed and marginalized (black) race, King and Malcolm’s views and standpoints on certain things also have patches of differences—as they were, as some would refer them to, in a situation of ‘butting heads together’. However, there philosophies, though with a kind of divergence, have been greatly treasured and applied in today’s context (Harvey). On grounds of looking into the major contributions of the two significant men aforementioned, this account aims to further comprehend on what King and Malcolm’s major accomplishments’ impacts—or at some point, effects—to the society, not only immediately during the 20th century, but also on the proceeding era following such. Moreover, in the light of providing a comprehensive discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, this also provides an extensive comparison between the two prior to their social environment and embraced philosophies, especially on the notion with regard to the fight of the Blacks for their civil rights. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND MALCOLM X: BIOGRAPHY There were noticeable differences in the way how Martin Luther King and Malcolm X grew before they became prominent leaders of the blacks. As Dr. Arthur Lewin had stated, King came from a favorable middle class Black family in the largest city in the South, while Malcolm’s family was part of the underprivileged blacks during that time. In addition, King’s family was an established name in Atlanta, that amid the segregation that had persisted, he was still able to be well-educated. On one hand, Malcolm had not gone to any educational institution, but had only relied on his inherent intelligence which was further developed through homeschooling (Swain). According to the Nobel Foundation of 1964, King, being a Baptist Church pastor, was a strong civil rights for the blacks’ advocate, who had actively been involved in various organizations advocating for the welfare of the “colored people.” As like King, Malcolm came from a family belonging to a Baptist Church in Lansing, Michigan. As segregation was dominant in King’s environment, Malcolm’s childhood was also marked by the racist approach of the white supremacists. With the death of his father, Malcolm was forced to engage in juveniles crimes which brought him to jail—which eventually enabled him to convert into Islam (“Malcolm X”). As far as Malcolm’s imprisonment is concerned, Martin Luther King Jr. was also put in jail when he organized civil rights protests (Koecke). Noticeably, both men—Malcolm X and Luther King Jr.—were under the racist system existing within the American society. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND MALCOLM X: APPROACHES TO PEACE & DIPLOMACY AND MILITANCY As far as their being advocates for the elimination of racial segregation and discrimination is concerned, King and Malcolm embraced each one’s standpoints which had some points of convergence, as well as points of divergence. As Martin Fister had put it, Luther King Jr. was a man who greatly had valued peace. In fact, prior to this interest, the civil rights protests that he led were all done in peaceful manners of sit-ins and boycotts. King, furthermore, adopted and applied nonviolent protest tactics which he used to put the blacks into solidarity across the borders of each state of America. In addition, he also actively organized and immersed himself in various peaceful calls for the preservation of civil rights of the blacks, especially the peaceful “camp-ins” where he spoke about the ways to alleviate the issue of poverty caused by the Vietnam War (“The Life Of Martin”). As James Cone further supported King’s nonviolent advocacy, Martin King believed in the supremacy of peace and nonviolence for the advancement of the oppressed not only in the United States but also in different regions of the world. Relatively different from King, Malcolm X was more into black militancy and force-utilizing Black organization(s). He, furthermore, went into “preaching” his words of Black militancy in the grassroots black communities, aiming to bind them into one interest (Carson). As far as his childhood and teenage experiences were concerned, Malcolm’s inclination to a more aggressive tactic of black advancement could be traced to his days, the times when he was put in prison because of some juvenile delinquencies. Furthermore, his revolutionary intellects powered his call for the participation of the Black masses coming from the commonly marginalized areas of the Americas—mostly streets—where he was able to communicate fairly well, and eventually convinced the Blacks, prior to his own experiences being immersed in such kind of environment (Davis). ON GENUINE LEADERSHIP Genuine leadership, aided by their inherent charismas, is what similarly characterized King Jr. and Malcolm X. According to Clayborne Carson of Stanford University, both men were able to extend their leadership skills starting from the grassroots level of the American society to the higher ones. However, their leadership pattern(s) were also marked by distinctions and contrarieties, though both may have considerably extended such leadership to the locales. King, as an influential black leader, mobilized the masses in the grassroots level through having the national leaders indirectly represent the interests on behalf of the black Americans. Moreover, his leadership was immensely guided by the principle of diplomacy which, as far as King’s education and relatively peaceful environment are concerned, could be the fruition of early age experiences. Hence, the mobilization was done in an indirect participation of the (black) masses. Emerging as the most effective critic to King’s notion of nonviolent protests (Cone), Malcolm X did not rely on the national figures to represent the collective interests of the blacks. Instead, he mobilized the Black masses in the grassroots level to directly represent their own clamors in the struggle that among them should be the development of a strong militancy through collective building of alliances amongst themselves (Carson). Thus, the pattern of leadership of the two black civil rights leaders had divergence at some point—King, on one end, highly valued the diplomatic attainment of equality by the Blacks, while Malcolm, on the other, believed in a militant struggle of winning (Carson). ACHIEVEMENTS and IMPACTS The established names of King and Malcolm X in the political history of struggle of the black Americans were significantly represented in their achievements that had affected the American society way back years ago—and even until now. In their specificities, Martin King’s achievements were almost all politically inclined. As they were mentioned by James Cone in his article, “King inspired African Americans to hold firmly to nonviolence in their struggle for justice. The success of the student sit-ins (1960), the Freedom Rides (1961), the Birmingham demonstrations (1963), and the March on Washington (1963) provided King with the opportunity to demonstrate the power of non-violence in destroying legal segregation in American life.” The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society explained that the peaceful and nonviolent ways of crusading—and going against—any form of racial discrimination and segregation in all aspects of the American life was one of Martin Luther King’s major achievements. As he was an advocate for peace and justice, he made it possible for the Blacks to preserve their civil rights in a manner that does not require any violence and harm. The productive extension of his peaceful struggle against racial discrimination, furthermore, made him become one of the front leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X’s achievements, on the other end, were not as dissimilar as that of King’s in a sense that they were all steered toward the liberation of the black Americans from the grudges of racism. In fact, Malcolm was able to mobilize the black masses through bridging their sense of nationalism to fight for their rights. Yet, the only thing which made Malcolm’s advocacy distinct from that of King was his belief on the militant way of achieving his end of liberation (Carson). As James Cone had defined it, Malcolm’s philosophy was the Black Nationalist self-defense philosophy, which promoted hate and violence, clearly apart from King’s nonviolent conception. King and Malcolm’s accomplishments, thus, led to the emergence and the eventual development of various advocacies, mostly were for the preservation of the civil rights of the Blacks. As they were highlighted in Carson’s thesis, the steps executed by both men—King and Malcolm—led to the development of a genuine form of nationalism amongst the Black constituents at any level of the social stratum, however most dramatically in the marginalized mass sector, in ways both peaceful and militant. Furthermore, because of the accomplishments that the two leaders have done, most Blacks were given their fair share of attention of the American government; their interests were started to be heard; and their voices had started to get out in the doomed cages they were once in. As the protests led by King and Malcolm were acted out, democratic black ideals started to develop. In addition, it was James Cone that stressed that “King’s practice and thought radically transformed America’s understanding of itself and inspired liberation movements around the world.” CONCLUSION It could therefore be concurred that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, who were part of the history of struggle of the Black American race, contributed to the development of a whole new Black “destiny” not only in the Americas but also in the different peripheries around the globe. They were, as like any other great figures in history, part of the active vehicle of change within the society. Their struggle toward the liberation of the Blacks from the discriminating treatment of the white supremacists sprang out of their early experiences of such racism. This bound them into achieving a common end. However, with the philosophies that each espoused, there still exist the disparity between the two. Pragmatically, it could be determined that King’s notion of nonviolence is much more favorable than Malcolm’s; and it is with his approach to peaceful and diplomatic means of resolving things that King affected the society more than Malcolm X. In addition, with regard to the variables they were once exposed to and with their philosophies, a conspicuous distinction could be noticed amongst the two. Hence, with the fact that Malcolm came as a potential critic to King, their lines of belief could therefore be seen apart. However, one important notion to be realized in the contrarieties and differences possessed by King and Malcolm is that no matter how different King’s views were to Malcolm, and Malcolm’s were to King, there still exist a sense of solidarity within them; two individuals of the same race. The issue, therefore, is not on identifying who should be believed in, but on realizing how important values of unity and solidarity could flourish amid a certain disparity. Works Cited Carson, Clayborne. “African- American Leadership and Mass Mobilization.” Stanford University, 1994. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. Cone, James H. “Martin and Malcolm on Nonviolence and Violence.” Chicken Bones: A Journal for Literary and Artistic African American Themes, 3 Apr. 2006. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. Davis, Lenwood. Malcolm X, A Selected Bibliography. Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press, 1984. Print. Fister, Martin. “Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Two Sides of the Same Coin?” Ezine Articles. Ezine Articles, 05 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. Harvey, James. “Comparing the Legacy of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.” Helium, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. Koecke, Tom. “MLK Jr.” Helium, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. Lewin, Arthur. “Malcolm X vs. Martin Luther King.” Black Web Portal, 17 Jan. 2006. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. “Malcolm X (1925- 1965).” American Experience. Public Broadcasting Experience, 19 May 05. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. “Martin Luther King Jr.: Biography.” Nobelprize.org. The Nobel Foundation, 1964. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. “Martin Luther King Jr.” The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. Providence, n.d. Web. 26 Jan 2010. Moritz, Elke. “Comparison of Martin and Malcolm.” Elke’s Homepage, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. Swain, James. “Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.” Study World. Oakwood Mgt., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. “The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.” The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company, n.d. Web. 22 Jan 2010. Read More