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Similarities Between Mlk And Malcolm X

Decent Essays

Name Course Date Comparing MLK and Malcolm X’s Push for Racial Equality It is no secret that the struggles of African Americans for the past centuries had sparked efforts to bring to the fore Civil Rights Movement. In succinct, the Civil Rights Movement was the multitude of efforts and movements that aimed to put a halt on racial discrimination against African Americans. With the implementation of Jim Crow Laws that fundamentally legalized manifestations of racial discrimination and segregation, the accumulation of social injustices against materialized Civil Rights Movement. Most notably, the death of Emmett Till and the imprisonment of Rosa Parks had made it even more glaring how there should be a greater push for greater integration …show more content…

More than the non-violent movements he have led, one can already glean from his speeches how he created an ideal American society where racial integration is possible. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” MLK stressed the importance of racial integration on his American dream. He continued, “We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.” These two lines reflect how MLK wants to awaken the minds of African Americans on how racial discrimination manifests. However, MLK never intended African Americans to hate all White Americans, albeit the threat of extremism that makes pacifism challenging. “The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny,” MLK stressed. This non-violent stance was consistent with what he stated in Letter from a Birmingham Jail months before he did the I Have a Dream Speech. Specifically, in the former, while he …show more content…

The different backgrounds of the two civil rights leaders have led them to take non-identical routes to racial equality. MLK sought for racial integration and never believed in the need to carry out violent movements whereas Malcom sought for greater civil rights for African Americans that may involve violent movements without pushing for racial integration. Inasmuch as their beliefs may not be of the same page, it cannot be ignored that racial discrimination significantly decreased because of how they led their followers in Civil Rights Movement. Without their charisma and indomitable spirit, African Americans and other minorities may still be subject to abuses of White extremists that simply do not have room in today’s modern society. However, there must be a continuing follow through on what MLK and Malcolm started as racial discrimination is still

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