King Vs Malcolm X Essay Research Paper

King Vs. Malcolm X Essay, Research Paper

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X grew up in different environments. King was raised in a comfortable middle-class family where education was stressed. On the other hand, Malcolm X came from an underprivileged home. King was a self-taught man who received little schooling and rose to greatness on his own intelligence and determination. Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 into a family whose name was well established. Despite segregation, Martin Luther King.s parents ensured that their child was secure and happy. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 and was raised an atmosphere of fear and anger where the seeds of bitterness were planted. The burning of his house by the Ku Klux Klan resulted in the murder of his father. His mother later suffered a nervous breakdown and his family was split up. He was haunted by this early nightmare for most of his life. From then on, hatred and a desire for revenge drove Malcolm X. Both men ultimately became towering icons of contemporary African-American culture and had a great influence on black Americans. However, King had a more positive attitude than Malcolm X, believing that through peaceful demonstrations and arguments, blacks will be able to someday will achieve full equality with whites. Malcolm X.s despair about life was reflected in his angry, pessimistic belief that equality is impossible because whites have no moral conscience. King basically adopted on an integrationalist philosophy whereby he felt that blacks and whites should be united and live together in peace. Malcolm X, however, promoted nationalist and separatist doctrines. For most of his life, he believed that only through revolution and force could blacks attain their rightful place in society. Although both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were pivotal figures in the Civil Rights Movement, I argue that King.s approach which emphasized peace, unity, and equality serves as the best way to achieve racial justice.

Both Malcolm X and King spread their messages through powerful, hard-hitting speeches. Nevertheless, their intentions were delivered in different styles and purpose. .King was basically a peaceful leader who urged non-violence to his followers. He traveled about the country giving speeches that inspired black and white listeners to work together for racial harmony. .Pg. 135, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Movement) Malcolm X, for the most part, believed that non-violence and integration was a trick by the whites of keep blacks in their place. He was furious at white racism and encouraged his followers through his speeches to rise up and protest against their white enemies.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.s childhoods had powerful influences on the men and their speeches. Malcolm X was brought up in an atmosphere of violence. During his childhood, Malcolm X suffered not only from abuse by whites but also from also from domestic violence. His father beat his mother and both of them abused their children. His mother was forced to raise eight children during the depression. After his mother had a mental breakdown, the children were all placed in foster homes. Malcolm X.s resentment was increased as he suffered through the ravages of integrated schooling. Although he was an intelligent student who like Martin Luther King dreamed of being a lawyer, Malcolm X.s anger and resentment caused him to drop out of school. He started to use cocaine and set up a burglary ring to support his expensive habit. Malcolm X.s hostility and promotion of violence as a way of getting change was well established in his childhood. Martin Luther King lived in an entirely different environment. He was a smart student and skipped two grades before entering an Ivy League college at only the age of 15. He was the class valedictorian with an average. King paraded his graduation present in a new green Chevrolet before his fellow graduates. He was raised in the perfect environment where dreams and love were generated. King and Malcolm X.s childhoods are . a study in polarity.. (Pg. 254, Reflecting Black.) Where as Malcolm X was raised in nightmarish condition, King.s home was almost dream-like. He was raised in a comfortable middle-class home where strong values natured his sense of self-worth.

Many people have admired Malcolm X and Martin Luther King for the way that they preached. King and Malcolm X promoted self-knowledge and respect for one.s history and culture as the basis for unity. Other than the fact that they were similar in some ways, they also had many differences that people admired, both in belief and speech. Malcolm X, in many ways, was known to many as an extremist. For most of the time that he spent as an Islamic minister, he preached about separatism between blacks and whites. He also preached about Black Nationalism, and as some would call it, black Supremacy. He also talked about how the white man still sees the black man as a slave. Martin Luther King appeared to many as calm and idealistic. Many say his calmness came form his peaceful, middle-class life. For instance, King preached about equality between blacks and whites. He also preached about getting this equality through a non-violent way. King.s popularity was more than any other black leader popularity. . King urged blacks to win their rightful place in society by gaining self-respect, high moral standards, hard work, and leadership.