Comparison Of Martin Luther King Jr And

Comparison Of Martin Luther King, Jr And Malcom X Essay, Research Paper

Comparison of Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcom X

Essay submitted by Twyla Lomen

They were black men who had a dream, but never lived to see it fulfilled. One was a

man who spoke out to all humanity, but the world was not yet ready for his peaceful

words. “I have a dream, a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the

true meaning of its creed… that all men are created equal.” (Martin Luther King) The

other, a man who spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change

for the black race. “Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the

only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if you’re not ready to get

involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means

we’ll have to change you.” (Malcom X) While Martin Luther King promoted non-violence,

civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, a man of the name of Malcom X dreamed

of a separate nation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was the conscience of his generation. A Southerner, a black

man, he gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could

bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to free all people from the

bondage of separation and injustice, he wrung his eloquent statement of what America

could be. (Ansboro, pg.1) An American clergyman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, he

was one of the principle leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and a prominent

advocate of nonviolent protest. King’s challenges to segregation and racial

discrimination in the 1950’s and 1960’s, helped convince many white Americans to

support the cause of civil rights in the United States. After his assassination in 1968,

King became the symbol of protest in the struggle for racial justice. (”King, Martin

Luther, Jr.,” pg. 1)

In 1964, Malcom X founded an organization called “The Muslim Mosque, Inc. In an

interview conducted by A.B. Spellman on March 19, 1964, Malcom speaks of his goals

for this organization. “The Muslim Mosque, Inc. will have as its religious base the religion

of Islam, which will be designed to propagate the moral reformations necesary to up the

level of the so-called Negro community by eliminating the vices and other evils that

destroy the moral fiber of the community. But the political philosophy of the Muslim

Mosque will be black nationalism, as well as the social and economic philosophies. We

still believe in the Honorable Elijah Muhammand’s solution as complete separation. The

22 million so-called Negroes should be separated completely from America and should be

permitted to go back home to our native African homeland.” (Breitmaned, pgs. 5-6)

Perhaps the key to these two African-Americans leaders opposing goals lay within their

very different pasts. Malcom X was born in Omaha as Malcom Little. Malcom’s faith, a

Baptist minister was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey, the black nationalist

leader of the 1920’s. The family moved to Lansing, Michigan, and when Malcom was six

years old, his father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

Malcom’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her eight children were taken by

the welfare department. Malcom was sent first to a foster home and then to a reform

school. After 8th grade, Malcom moved to Boston where he worked various jobs and

eventually became involved in criminal activity. (Malcom X, pg.1)

In 1946, he was sentenced to prison for burglary. While in prison, Malcom became

invested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammed, the leader of the black Muslims also

called the Nation of Islam. Malcom spent his time in jail educating himself and learning

more about the black Muslims, who advocated racial separation. When Malcom was

released in 1952, he joined a black Muslim temple in Detroit and became the most

prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam by the early 1960’s. It was then that he

took the name of Malcom X. (”Malcom,” pg.1)

Martin Luther King was born in Alanta, Georgia, the eldest son of Martin Luther King,

Sr., a Baptist minister, and Alberta Williams King. King attended local segregated public

schools, where he excelled. He entered nearby Morehouse College at age 15 and

graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology in 1948. After graduating with honors

from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951, he went to Boston University

where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955. (”King, Martin

Luther, Jr.,” pg.1)

Throughout King’s education, he was exposed to influences that related Christian

theology to the struggles of oppressed peoples. At Morehouse, Crozer, and Boston

University, he studied the teachings on nonviolent Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. King

also read and heard the sermons of white Protestant ministers who preached against

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