Essay about Malcolm X vs Martin Luther King Jr

The Civil Rights Movement symbolized the challenge and opposition to the racial injustices and segregation that had been engrained in American society for hundreds of years. Events that took place in the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, sit-ins, speeches and numerous protests define this momentous time in United States history. Speeches during this period served as a means to inspire and assemble a specific group of people, for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X it was the black community that needed to rise up in hopes of achieving equal rights and voting rights for the blacks.

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 had a common purpose for African Americans; justice and equality. Illustrated through their speeches, Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” and Malcolm X’s “Talk to Young African Americans”, the two did not share techniques or ideas. Yet both men had the support of millions and millions of people.

In Birmingham, Ala., in the spring of 1963, King's campaign to end segregation at lunch counters and segregated hiring practices drew nationwide attention when police turned attacks dogs and fire hoses on peaceful demonstrators. King was jailed along with

Dr. King was looking for support from members of society in order to create an effective change in society’s ethics. Moreover, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s large audience and public movement used nonviolent tactics, such as sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides to put the Civil Rights Movement in action. Before directly acting against the law, Dr. King had used other means to try to obtain justice for all; he used the four basic steps of a nonviolent campaign to decide how he would approach this cultural issue of racism: determination of whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action (King 1). After the first three steps of his nonviolent campaign proved to be ineffective, he decided to seek direct action through a large demonstration of civil disobedience. Dr. King had a tremendous impact on the segregation issue in not just Birmingham, but the entire country, by leading the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually helped influence anti-segregation legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that affected a massive population of the entire country. Although Dr. King’s journey ended in his assassination, his relentless passion for equal rights was empowering to many and helped to create a more just society.

In Birmingham, Ala., in the spring of 1963, King's campaign to end segregation at lunch counters and segregated hiring practices drew nationwide attention when police turned attacks dogs and fire hoses on peaceful demonstrators.

Dr. Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both black men, fighting for freedom in a white society. However, the word 'fighting' meant different things for each of them. For Malcolm X, it literally means violence, as he believed in 'an eye for an eye'. Martin Luther King, however, believed in peaceful protest, such as the Montgomery Bus Protests.

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.

During the past century, the United States of America has wresled with the problem of inequality between black and white people. Two influential people who helped to combat racism and the inequality of man were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X had two differentiated approaches to accomplish the same things for black. Both King and Malcolm X started their own organizations, organized rallies, and both gave speeches, but, their beliefs and

Lansing did not hold many opportunities of any kind for a young black man then, so without a particular plan, Malcolm X went to live with his half-sister, Ella, in Boston. Malcolm X looked, and almost immediately found trouble. He fell in with a group of gamblers and thieves, and began shining shoes at the Roseland State Ballroom. There he learned the trades that would eventually take him to jail dealing in bootleg liquor and illegal drugs. Malcolm X characterized his life then as one completely lacking in self-respect. Many journalists would emphasize Malcolm X’s “shady” past when describing the older man, his clean-cut lifestyle, and the aims of the Nation of Islam. In some cases, these references were an attempt to damage Malcolm X’s credibility, but economically disadvantaged people have found his early years to be a point of commonality, and Malcolm X himself was proud of how far he had come. He spared no detail of his youth in his autobiography, and used his Nation of Islam ideas to interpret them. Dancing, drinking, and even his hair style were represented by Malcolm X to be marks of shame and self-hatred. Relaxed hair in particular was an anathema to Malcolm X for the rest of his life; he described his first “conk” in the autobiography this way: “This was my first really big step toward self-degradation: when I endured all of that pain of the hair-straightening chemicals, literally burning my flesh to have it

Ronald Regan once said: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn 't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” In fact, American history has had a great deal of leaders that brought change by improving the lives of others. These leaders introduced new ideas, models, and theories to society breaking away from their social norms. Despite the fact, that we’ve had several remarkable individuals in American History it is equally important to remember that no one individual portrays any given event the same way. Although, their goals were similar, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had different approaches towards the modern American Civil Rights Movement.

King’s picture appeared on the cover of the magazines and newspaper and he was called “a modern Moses”. A new organization, the Southern Christian leadership Conference, had formed to focus on achieving civil rights, King was elected its president. It led the Fifteenth amendment of the US constitution that said that all citizens of the United Sates had the rights to vote. In May, 1957, King helped organize a march in Washington D.C at Lincoln memorial. Dr. King came out with his first book “Stride towards Freedom “the Montgomery story, which told the story of the bus boycott and explained nonviolent protest. At a book signing, a mentally unbalanced woman stabbed Dr. King in the chest, but after three hour operation king’s life was saved. In 1960 Dr. King’s Family moved to Atlanta to assist his father as a co-pastor, of the Baptist church. His new positions gave him more time for civil rights work. Meanwhile, African American students, in other parts of the South, were also carrying a nonviolent protest sit–in at lunch counters and others segregated locations which fought for black dignity everywhere. Dr. King was arrested at an Atlanta sit-in and was jailed for four months. In 1961 black and white students began taking part in “freedom rides”. Dr. King and the SCLC were invited by the black leaders to help organize a protest to end segregation to achieve equal of eating facilities using a plan called `Project C`` . The protestors began with a few

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

African Americans are fortunate to have leaders who fought for a difference in Black America. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X are two powerful men in particular who brought hope to blacks in the United States. Both preached the same message about Blacks having power and strength in the midst of all the hatred that surrounded them. Even though they shared the same dream of equality for colored people, the tactics they used to make these dreams a reality were very different. The background, environment and philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were largely responsible for the distinctly varying responses to American racism.

In 1957, Dr. King and other civil rights activists formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This group was formed to help African Americans conduct non-violent protests for civil rights reform. One of the most famous protests by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference occurred in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963. His intentions with this movement were to provoke mass arrests and draw attention using public media. Footage of Birmingham Police Department’s brutality towards the protesters was broadcast across the country and shocked many white Americans. This movement caused an increase of support from African Americans to Dr. King and the SCLC’s actions. This protest along with many others often ended with King being arrested or jailed.