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Comparing the Beliefs of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Essay

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Comparing the Beliefs of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

By April 1968, two of the worlds most remembered civil rights leaders, who fought for a difference in black America, had been assassinated. Despite their different beliefs and their different ways of promoting this message, they both had the same goal in mind; to promote black respect and pride. The visionary and angry voices of Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X together transformed theological thinking in the African-American community.

Martin Luther King Jr. believed that all blacks and whites should be treated equally as it was written in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In his most renowned speech, ‘I Have a …show more content…

He also believed in non-violent protests such as ‘sit-in’s’, freedom marches, speeches against injustice and silent protests, he believed that it was never right to use violence because this does not express the love of God, it just expressed hatred. Even after his home was bombed, his family received threats against their lives, and he himself was even stabbed, he still did not respond by using violence. King learnt about this idea of non-violence while studying Gandhi at college and became impressed with the strength that this man had for not retaliating with violence when it was put on him.

Gandhi was an important leader in India; to rid the British from his country, Gandhi had his followers protest non-violently for their departure. Whilst on a visit to India, where King spoke to some of Gandhi’s followers, King became more and more sure that the way of non-violence was the way to go to ensure his wishes of freedom came about. The words of Gandhi that inspired King in his struggle for freedom without violence were, “Soul-Force is infinitely superior to body-force. If people, in order to secure redress of wrongs, resorted to Soul-Force, much of the present suffering would be avoided. There is no such thing as failure in the use of this kind of force. `Resist not evil' means that evil is not to be repelled

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