Compare And Contrast Similarities Between Martin Luther King And Gandhi

The year of 2017 has been one of the most politically heated and controversial years of the twenty-first century. We are facing issues as to whether we, the people, should be legally allowed to change gender, required to be open to homosexuality, or in the case of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., have the absolute freedom of speech; Should we be allowed to act with our feelings, and be required to be sensitive to the emotions of others even if it might be a limitation of our first amendment? Or should we abide by the same book of ethical and legal code we have kept since our country’s birth. Racism has plagued America for centuries, and we still have the question of, “have we moved on”?

Kings’ Christian background coincided with the beliefs of Gandhi. He felt that despite their ill will toward you that you should love your enemies and the proverbial “turn the other cheek”. King stated that “As I read, I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform

Thesis: Actions, beliefs, and patience are characteristics that are comparable in both the lives of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

Two different men with similar intentions. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both activists who wanted to see the advancement of African American people. Both men are significant pieces of history when it comes to the civil rights movement. Their past actions have opened up many doors which are still happening today. Even though they are gone their legacies will always live on because they were the stepping stone for the current activists that we see today. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were profoundly dedicated to the advancement and social equality for African Americans. However, they picked different paths to fulfill their objectives to enfranchise the African American race.

Many people think that Martin Luther King, Jr. is a great warrior because no one stood up against the government, but he stood up against oppression against his race. Even when, threatened he kept fighting : “On September 30, 1956, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s house was bombed by segregationists in retaliation for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott”. He didn’t run when he got attacked; He tried to save everyone. For example, when he experienced terrorism by a bad squad, he didn’t run away. I might be very scared, but Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t run away and he tried to protect people from terror. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew many people thought oppression against race has to be changed : “ When he was a young man, Martin Luther King wanted a career helping people. He felt that as a minister, he could speak out “against racial injustice”. Following the example of the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King chose nonviolence as the keystone of his fight for civil rights”.

There are two major leaders during the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. In this paper I will first be looking at each of these two leaders individually including their backgrounds and what they are most well-known for. Then, I will be looking at the similarities and differences between these two famous leaders.

Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were both extremely eminent figures of the twentieth century. They correspond to Transcendentalism, the idea that you should not conform to society’s laws and expectations, which essential in Gandhi and MLK’s philosophies. It is to do what you feel like doing, and not follow along or be influenced by the crowd, to follow your intuition. MLK and Gandhi both held non-violent resistances. MLK focused on promoting equality and anti-racism, and Gandhi wanted to give India independence from British rule, as well as fight the racism towards Indians in South Africa. Both Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi’s movements and beliefs were influenced by Henry David Thoreau, and they hold a strong connection to transcendentalism.

Gandhi, King and Chavez all shared one similar goal. That goal was to bring society back from a culture of violence and hate, to a culture of peace and harmony. The method employed in their human rights struggles to achieve social justice was through the supreme importance of non-violent civil resistance/non-violence. A way civil resisters show their civil disobedience is by “noiselessly going to prison” to “ensure a calm atmosphere“ that will then “justify mass disobedience as civil, which means gentle, truthful, humble, knowing, loving, never criminal and hateful,“ (Gandhi, 358). Gandhi, King, and Chavez were all devoutly religious, but their tactics differed in the ways they approached non-violence. Gandhi approached non-violence ideological

Gandhi and Malcolm X both had very successful nonviolent campaigns, although they were in different time periods and in different parts of the world, they both worked. Gandhi was one of the first people to do something big through nonviolence and showcased how well it would work if you were really dedicated to it. Gandhi had a more successful nonviolent campaign than Malcolm X because of the main goal he achieved through his campaign, gaining India their independence.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were both known as civil right leaders in the 1960’s. Both men had a different perspective on civil rights and how civil rights should be won. Both men also had strong beliefs on religious and followed on through that path in different ways. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had several differences and several comparisons and had a big impact for the people of The United States.

King wants non-violence and to just take the beating from the white community and to not be mad when a black person is murdered but to where out the attackers. ( Doc H and L ) What Malcolm had in mind was to use violence for protection when you need to fight for your life as a community instead of one person being murdered one by one which I agree ( Doc K ). You don’t just watch people die, especially when you know who is the murderer. You must fight for what is right and expose what is

King was always against violence throughout his life. He believed in the philosophy of non-violence. In his book, Stride Toward Freedom, he described his “pilgrimage to nonviolence," he stated that, “the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhi-an method of nonviolence was one of the most

Even after almost fifty-years, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X endure as cherished, powerful, and instrumental leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. Although they were advocating for the same cause, they were not always on the same page about the means. They were both ministers, although of different faiths, and had different thought processes. In his autobiography, Malcolm discusses his childhood in poverty and the ramifications that this caused such as dropping out of school in the eight-grade. Upon moving to Boston from Nebraska, Malcolm was in yet another disadvantaged environment that was interwoven with violence, eventually leading to his incarceration that lasted six years. Martin, however, was a well-educated man from a

Comparing the Civil Disobedience of Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau, and Mohandas Gandhi

Aroused by the massacre of Amritsar in 1919, Gandhi devoted his life to gaining India’s independence from Great Britain. As the dominant figure used his persuasive philosophy of non-violent confrontation, he inspired political activists with many persuasions throughout the world (Andrews 23). Not only was Mahatma Gandhi a great peacemaker, but also his work to achieve freedom and equality for all people was greatly acknowledged. Gandhi’s unconventional style of leadership gained him the love of a country and eventually enabled him to lead the independence movement in India.