Comparing The Life And Leadership Of Dr. Martin Luther King And Malcolm X

Although Malcolm words often stung with the injustices against blacks in America, the equally racist views of the Nation of Islam kept him from accepting any whites as sincere or capable of helping the situation. For twelve years he preached that the white man was the devil and the "Honourable Elijah Muhammad" was God's messenger. Unfortunately, most images of Malcolm today focus on this period of his life, although the transformation he was about to undergo would give him a completely different, and more important, message for the American people. The Change to True Islam

Comparing Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Martin Luther King and Malcolm X are to diverse individuals with two opposite personalities but both successfully succeeded in achieving freedom and bringing equality to black Americans discriminated against for many years even after the abolishment of slavery. Martin Luther King was born in 1929, in Georgia, Atlanta. Unlike the other black people in the southern states he was different he grew up in well off family who was freely educated a key factor in his personal achievements. During his younger adult years just like his father who was a preacher King decided to work in the Christian church as a Baptist Minster. He idolised Mohandas Karamchand

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were very significant during the Civil Rights Movement. Both were excellent speakers and shared one goal but had two different ways of resolving it. Martin Luther King Jr. chose to resolve the issues by using non-violence to create equality amongst all races to accomplish the goal. Malcolm X also wanted to decrease discrimination and get of segregation but by using another tactic to successfully accomplish the similar goal. The backgrounds of both men were one of the main driven forces behind the ways they executed their plans to rise above the various mistreatments. Martin Luther King Jr. was a more pronounced orator, a more refined leader, and overall saw the larger picture than Malcolm X.

Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X were very huge leading figures during the Civil Rights movement. Though they had many differences, they had some similarities. Both men’s fathers were preachers and both men were religious preachers themselves. Dr. King and Malcolm X were around the same age and they were both assassinated. Coincidentally, both men had the same number of children and eventually they had the same ideologies for the Civil Rights Movement. However, Dr. King and Malcolm X were different in ways such as Malcolm X wanted black supremacy and Dr. King wanted equality, Malcolm X saw violence as an option to achieve his goals if peace did not work and Dr. King believed in complete nonviolence, and Malcolm X

It would be the time spent in prison that would transform Malcolm and change him from a career criminal to the activist he would later be known as. He visited the prison library and read books on religion, philosophy, and history. He read and copied the entire dictionary acquiring the skills that would make him a powerful public speaker. He dedicated his time in prison to his own personal development and through his brother Reginald learned of the organization known as the Nation of Islam or the Black Muslims. The Nation of Islam is an Islamic religious organization founded by its leader Elijah Muhammad which promoted Black separatism from whites culturally, physically, politically and psychologically. Malcolm began to follow the preachings of Muhammad and practiced the religion devoutly, giving up drug use, alcohol consumption, as well as eating pork.

Instead of going to school to get a traditional education, he dropped out of school at fifteen and learned the ways of the streets. Malcolm associated himself with thugs, thieves, dope dealers, and pimps. He was convicted of burglary at age twenty and remained in prison until he was twenty-seven. During his prison sentence, he became a changed man. He educated himself and he learned about and joined the Nation of Islam, studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammed. Elijah taught Malcolm how history had been “whitened by the white man” (p.184) and he echoed “the black convict’s lifelong experience” where “the white man is the devil,” (p. 186). This thought process encouraged many black inmates to discover the Nation of Islam.

In prison Malcolm was introduced to many people who had a big influence on him. One African American prisoner named, Bimbi, who was widely respected for his knowledge encouraged Malcolm to take advantage of the prison library to expand his own knowledge. Malcolm took the advice and used his time in prison to learn as much as he could. He then was transferred to the Concord Prison Facility where he was introduced to the organization called, Nation of Islam. The N.O.I. was a Black Muslim group who had a strict schedule of prayer and self- discipline. It also taught that blacks were superior to whites. He then started writing letters to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the N.O.I.

Malcolm and his family corresponded often, and he began to gain knowledge of Elijah Muhammad’s religion of Islam. He assessed himself and soon realized the quilt and sin of his previous life had prepared him to accept the truth, as taught by the leader of the Black Muslims. From the murder of his father, his own experiences of racial injustice, the knowledge his white grandfather had raped his grandmother, he knew beyond a doubt; there was nothing good about the white race. This information was a blinding light that took weeks for him to deal with directly. Muhammad’s religion taught that white men were evil and referred to them as the devil, believing their destruction by Allah was inevitable. The black race had been lied to and stripped of its identity; therefore, the best answer was to separate from white civilization and find its self-respect. With encouragement from family, Malcolm began writing to Elijah Muhammad. Based on his background, it was not a far stretch to believe Muhammad’s teachings, and soon Malcolm was on his knees in prayer.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal" (King, “I HAVE A DREAM…,” pg.4 ¶.5). Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were major figures in the fight for racial equality but their ideals were diametrically opposed. In MLK JR’s March on Washington speech, he calls for peaceful resistance and integration into an equal society. Malcolm X, however, disagrees with that in his Message to Grassroots and argues equality cannot be obtained peacefully and that living together wouldn’t be much better than slavery. By comparing the two men’s goals and messages expressed in these speeches we can gain an understanding of the feelings of the general populace on the issues of racial inequity.

Throughout the Civil Rights Movement, many leaders emerged that captured the attention of the American public. During this period, the leaders' used different tactics in order to achieve change. Of two of the better-known leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., the latter had a more positive influence in the progress of the movement.

Between the dates May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965 Malcolm was able to play these different roles such as a minister, human rights activists, and a prominent black nationalist leader who played as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and the 1960s. When he was set free from prison Nation of Islam members increased 400 members in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. When Malcolm was still a kid, his dad was slain from the Klan- like Black Legionaries. They say he committed suicide from the damages of a crushed head on one side and almost severed from his body. During this time, the siblings of Malcolm such as his mother was all separated at this time. During while this was happening, Malcolm was already six and was taken and placed into a foster home.

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.

Malcolm was arrested on January 12, 1946, and convicted of burglary, carrying an illegal firearm, and larceny (Crime and Investigation 1). He was sent to Charlestown State Prison for 8-10 years. While there, he joined the Nation of Islam. He began exchanging letters frequently with Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam’s leader, and changed his name to Malcolm X. He stated the “X” symbolized his lost tribal name, and that he was destroying the surname “Little” that his ancestor’s slave-owners had imposed on his family.

Despite his dismal upbringing, Malcolm was able to graduate from his junior high school at the top of his class. He was aspiring to become a lawyer, but after one of his teachers told him that trying to be one was, "no realistic goal for a nigger", he decided that school was not for him and moved to Boston for awhile and made a living working a number of jobs, none of which were permanent. Eventually he would find himself working as a waiter at a restaurant called Small's Paradise in Harlem, New York. It was at this time that Malcolm Little began using and then selling drugs and even committing burglary. In 1946 he would be arrested for burglary and sentenced to ten years in prison. It was during his stay at the Charlestown, Mass. Prison that he would make maybe the most significant change of his life. Malcolm would begin studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small cult-like Islamic group that called themselves the Nation of Islam, he also began to study the Koran (the Islamic holy book). It was during these long years in prison that Malcolm was able to educate himself fully and came to the conclusion that he wanted to join Elijah and the Nation of Islam and fight for equality between blacks and whites.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were leaders with many followers during the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. They were both ministers that had many people already following them and their number of followers only grew with their ideas and beliefs. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X had many great ideas on how America should be.While they both led their followers down the path to civil rights they both met their end by the hands of the people who did not want them to continue to make a difference the way they were for African Americans in America. Although Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X both made real changes regarding civil rights, they did not always agree on how to go about seeking out a