Malcolm X and Martin Luther King's Methods of Struggle for Rights of the Underprivileged - Essay Example

The (F)Utility of Violence: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X It would have been easy to accept violence as a solution in the struggle for equal rights by a people that had been oppressed by centuries of slavery. Decades of justifiable anger naturally erupted to the surface as some political leaders encouraged a militant view in an effort to capitalize on these emotionally charged feelings. Advocates of peace and non-violence called for a slow and steady progress, fearing the irreparable damage that violence can do to a human rights movement.

During the Civil Rights struggle, Malcolm X preached a more militant stance, while Martin Luther King advocated a non-violent struggle. King eventually prevailed in the debate, which had raged since the days of Dubois and Washington, and saved the Civil Rights movement from much of the backlash that would have stemmed from Malcolm X's vision of violence.By the time that King delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech on August 23, 1963, the Civil Rights movement had gained the support of the American people largely as a result of their repulsion to the violence unleashed on the demonstrators by law enforcement officials across the South.

The movement had a sympathetic President in the White House and a friend in Bobby Kennedy, and the Civil Rights Act was being hotly debated. Violence on the part of the Civil Rights protestors at this time could have resulted in squandering the public's goodwill and set the movement back by years. Malcolm X taught that "for the black man in America the only solution is complete separation from the white man" (qtd. in Fischer 128). This would have been counter productive in reaching King's vision of equality and the sharing of the dream.

Gaining human rights for an oppressed people is a struggle requiring patience and tolerance. Practicing the same violent theories that you are revolting against will leave the movement isolated and without the support of an American public that believes in the rule of law and values a civilized discourse. Works CitedFischer, Klaus P. America in White, Black, and Gray: The Stormy 1960s. New York: Continuum International Publishing, 2006.