Premium Essay

The Comparison of Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X

In:

Submitted By lindseyluu
Words 3427
Pages 14
Ever since the Reconstruction era after the Civil War there has been the issue of race and equality and rights. A movement occurred and two men gained power and influence the African American community. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X two men having experienced different things in their lives held different beliefs and morals and influenced people based upon those things. Martin Luther King Jr., came from a Baptist home with a fairly easy childhood, he was educated when he was younger and attended Morehouse College, an all black college, where he had several role models that shaped his beliefs. Malcolm X, on the other hand, experienced a hard childhood and used drugs and committed other crimes in his early adult years. While in prison he found a father figure in Elijah Muhammad and joined the Nation of Islam. There are many differences between Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X in the way they acted and influenced the African American community. This paper will look to describe their differing views and analyze their actions and their lives. In most cases a person’s childhood has a lasting affect on the rest of a person’s life. In comparing Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X this seems to be the case. Martin Luther King Jr., was born January 19, 1929 and was raised by a strong supportive family. He had a somewhat privileged life and “never experienced the feeling of not having the basic necessities of life.”[1] His father “was a community leader in Atlanta and pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church” and his mother “was a school teacher and an accomplished pianist.”[2] Although King was well off economically he was also exposed to the poverty and racism in Atlanta. “Despite the comfort and security of his own home and neighborhood, King developed an early awareness and sensitivity to the impact of poverty on large numbers of people in the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Malcom X

...The comparison of Martin Luther King’s and Malcolm X's movement’s. I would like to give these two person’s autobiographies first in order to compare them selves as persons. I think, that would help to understand the ideas, they were representing. Those biographies I have found in internet. So. Martin Luther King and his movement. Martin Luter Kingwas a husband, a father, a preacher-and the preeminent leader of a movement that continues to transform America and the world. Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of the twentieth century's most influential men and lived one of its most extraordinary lives. Now, in a special volume commissioned and authorized by his family, here is the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr., drawn from a comprehensive collection of writings, recordings, and documentary materials, many of which have never before been made public. Written in his own words, this historymaking autobiography is Martin Luther King: the mild-mannered, inquisitive child and student who chafed under and eventually rebelled against segregation; the dedicated young minister who continually questioned the depths of his faith and the limits of his wisdom; the loving husband and father who sought to balance his family's needs with those of a growing, nationwide movement; and the reflective, world-famous leader who was fired by a vision of equality for people everywhere. One of the reasons, why M.L. King became so popular and could get so far, was the fact that he graduated...

Words: 966 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Malcom X and Mlk

...Influential and Morally Different African Americans Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. are both household names of men who fought diligently for African American rights in the postmodernism 1960’s. The 1954 Supreme Court ruling favored that segregated educational structure left blacks at a disadvantage. This was the spark that triggered uprising in the following years. Malcolm X and King Jr’s emphasis on their beliefs is evident in the works and actions that they have done through their lives. Their philosophies do differ from one another, as we will see in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and with “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Both men had different approaches and desires for the black community as well as different upbringings that influenced them. We will see how such differences are reflected throughout their work to get a better understanding on how they compare and contrast. Known as Malcolm Little, the Omaha-born future activist suffered an impoverished start in life due to his father’s early demise. Prior to his death, Malcolm’s father was a “follower of Marcus Garvey, who instilled racial pride among the masses of African Americans” (Lauter 3088). To make end’s meet, Malcolm became a drug dealer and thief while living in Harlem, which landed him time in jail. His experience in jail and childhood shaped him and encouraged him in to becoming the activists that he was known for. Malcolm “replaced his own last name with “X” which stands for the African name his ancestors...

Words: 1327 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X

...“The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X In 1960’s America, the Civil Rights Movement was divided. Both sides sought change for the black community but by different means, and to different ends. They were all frustrated and fed up with the oppression with which they were forced to live. Today we especially remember two iconic figures as a representative of each side. The two great civil rights leaders of the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, held diametrically opposed political philosophies. King was a pacifist, in the tradition of Gandhi before him. Malcolm X was a radical, who advocated for violence. Both, however, shared a common goal—real freedom for African Americans. Malcolm X’s speech, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” was a direct response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech of a month before. The speech is directed at Americas black population. At this point in history black people in America often belonged to the country’s lowest social- and economic group. This meant that a large part of the black community had little to no education. Malcolm X adjusted his rhetoric accordingly. In Malcolm X’s attempt to reach and address this part of society he used different types of language. His use of negative connotations is an example of the low style language which appears in his speech. He used these connotations when he for example referred to white people as “crackers”. “The Ballot or the Bullet” is Malcolm X’s equivalent of King’s “I...

Words: 819 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Did Martin King Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement

...On January 15, 1929, Martin King Sr. and Alberta Williams King gave birth to one Martin King Jr. After some time, the elder of the two Martin’s chose to change both him and his son’s names to honor the great German reformer after a trip to Berlin. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up to be an incredible humanitarian and one of the greatest civil right’s activist and leader the movement ever saw. King is praised for leading his campaign with a non-violent approach based on his self-proclaimed belief in the Christian faith. King was born, raised, and spent a large part of his life in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in a steady and grounded household led by his parents who introduced him to the Christian faith and to God. After King had graduated high school, he attended Morehouse University and received his bachelor’s degree in Sociology. From Morehouse University he went and received his doctorate in systemic theology from Boston College. It is through his education at Boston College that his dissertation titled, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman,” arose. In this he took two great philosophers and theologians and...

Words: 961 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Black Panther

...The Black Panther Party “Us living as we do upside-down And the new word to have is revolution People don't even want to hear the preacher spill or spiel Because God's whole card has been thoroughly piqued And America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey ……………..America was a bastard And a rapist known as freedom, free-DOOM Democracy, liberty, and justice were revolutionary code names………. WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA? WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA? WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA? WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA?” - Gil Scott Heron Freedom or free-doom is the pejorative option that confronts many group and individuals in this society such as The Black Panther Party. For centuries, exploitation and socio- economic decay of certain ethnic group has continually been indigenous tool of European colonialism with present day society reflecting this same ideology. The economic substructure often illustrate important core concepts within society, the mean of production is ultimate detriment of all of aspect and all its populous dynamics. The capitalistic nature of American society in juxtaposition to the exploitative mean of production is unsatisfactory for many and truly beneficial for some. Many individuals being exploited believed this to be self-evident, with labor and taxation being the oppressors mean of production. To truly understand to political organization of a party one understand its economic intention. The way in which history has unfolded has been purely...

Words: 1341 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Second Wave Feminist Movement

...the feminism of the 1960s will be explored to show how the two bled together and were not entirely separate. The first source to be evaluated is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. There is value in this source because it provides a comparison point for the rest of the investigation. Since many historians look to Friedan’s book as the beginning of the feminist movement in the 1960s, it provides helpful insight into the initial goals for the movement. As a journalist, she was...

Words: 2124 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Compare And Contrast Islamic Worldviews

...What is the remedy? Reformational worldviews and Islamic worldviews are very differing in their perspectives on remedies to certain problems. Just as both these groups would view the problems differently, they also view the solutions differently. The Reformational worldview calls us to understand those who have differing views than us and to love those that we may find unlovable, or our “enemies.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. calls us to view the enemy in a loving way. He said that we have the Christian and moral responsibility to discover and live out the calling to love thy enemy. Hatred only produces more hatred. Just as MLK says that loving the enemy can help break down the barrier of hatred, this is also a Reformational’s remedy. Matthew 5:44 calls us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Just as God loves us through our flaws, we should show love to others, even if with disagree with them. Moreover, God created mankind in His image. Instead of seeing someone with different perspectives negatively, we should see them as image bearers of God. God still loves them as much as He loves us....

Words: 1556 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

1960's Crime Rates

... the world was changing at a rapid rate. The 60’s provided many challenges for America in many ways. With the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X, America seemed to be slowly destroying itself. With many Americans fighting for their rights, countless types of crime were committed during this time. Several great leaders in America were killed, but several bad Mafia leaders were taken down as well. Crime rates in America during the 60’s increased tremendously with assassinations, civil rights riots, and Mafia murders happening around every corner. Over the past 40 years, America has changed in many ways. Back in the 1960’s technology, politics, civil rights,...

Words: 1197 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

George Romero

...Question #2: George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) was initially poorly received, but is now regarded as a landmark film. Please discuss some of Romero’s aesthetic choices (lighting, camera work, casting) and the ways in which they reflect the reallife horrors of the time.  Night of the Living Dead (1968) by George A. Romero was heavily criticized at the time of release for its uncensored content, but it revolutionized the horror film genre while influencing many horror directors. When this transitional film first premiered in 1968, renowned film critic, Roger Ebert found it as “an expression of acute nausea”. Ebert was disgusted and wondered how someone could make such as horrifying movie (Hoberman and Rosenbaum, 1991, p. 123). In 1960’s, the scary monsters or evil villains such as the Frankenstein were typical in the horror films but this Romero cut has been associated with the term of “splatter film” used to describe horror genres that depict graphic violence and gore for many years (Williams, 2003, p.21). After the end of Civil War, 1968 was the most violent year in American history (Hoberman and Rosenbaum, p.125). It was in a time of very high tensions in both international Cold War politics and social turmoil; domestic racism, gender stereotypes and patriarchal nuclear family. Also the civil rights movement was beginning to blossom along with the protestation of the Vietnam War, which many believed was unnecessary and entirely avoidable. Romero has...

Words: 1240 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Uncle Tom

...[pic] |题目 |从1852年到2009年对汤姆叔叔的小屋所作 | | |评论的研究 | |英语系 |院(系) |英语 |专业 | |学号 |B06011131 | |学生姓名 |吴何芳 | |指导教师 |Bracher Andy | |起讫日期 |2009年12月~2010年5月 | |设计地点 |第二教学楼 | Acknowledgements Many people gave me support and help in the process of writing the paper. I’d like first to give my grate to my dear teacher, Andy, who generously gave me his kindly help and instructions during the whole process of my paper-writing. Then I’d like to give my many thanks to my classmates who helped me a lot with my information collecting and paper-polishing. Most important of all, I want to give my thanks to my mother university and all the teachers in the English Department, who educated and cultivated me to be a qualified graduate in the future. Abstract ...

Words: 5443 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

The Stonewall Riots: The Gay Liberation Movement

...Manifesto which for better or worse adopted a fully radical viewpoint of the issue of gay rights. This piece of writing stood in strong opposition to everything that the Gay Liberation Movement had fought for when they were formed. Carl Wittman believed that the idea of marriage equality for gay people was simply a tool by the federal government to keep same-sex couples bound in a trap of fighting for an unnecessary right. Instead, he proposed that queer people should remove themselves from the “gay ghetto.” If this was to be compared to any other fight for equality than the Civil Rights Movement would serve as the best comparison. The Gay Liberation Movement is often recognized as the equivalent of Martin Luther King Jr, supporting the political, social, and economic equality of their respective groups. The Red Butterfly by that same comparison is a Malcolm X, instead wanting to have themselves removed the situation at hand and separated into their own governing body. Carl Wittman stated himself that “To be a free territory, we must govern ourselves, set up our own institutions, defend ourselves, and use our own energies to improve our lives. The emergence of gay liberation communes, and our own paper is a good start.” In this sense the Red Butterfly address the Gay Liberation Movement’s successes, but when the division of that movement occurred that fought in opposition to the new Gay Liberation Movement that continued to adopt these same tactic as before. When looking back...

Words: 2081 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Jenny

...University of Phoenix Material Appendix D Part I Define the following terms: |Term |Definition | |Ethnic group |An ethnic group can be of several different backgrounds, but still have similar traits. | |Anti-Semitism |This term defines the hatred of Jews. | |Islamophobia |Islamophobia is the fear and terror towards Islam that eventually leads to prejudice. | |Xenophobia |This is fear or hatred towards strangers or anyone from a foreign country. | |Persecution |Persecution is mistreatment to a person or group from another group by all means of mental and physical| | |suffering. | |Religious group |A group of people by the masses that have beliefs, practices, or rituals. | Part II Select at least 1 religious and 1 ethnic/racial group not your own from the list below. • Religious groups (based on http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf) o Christianity • Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) • Racial/Ethnic groups (based on divisions in U.S. Census Bureau documents) ...

Words: 2727 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Terms/Devices

...Rhetorical Terms/Devices Figurative language is the generic term for any artful deviation from the ordinary mode of speaking or writing. It is what makes up a writer’s style – how he or she uses language. The general thinking is that we are more likely to be persuaded by rhetoric that is interesting, even artful, rather than mundane. When John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” (an example of anastrophe), it was more interesting – and more persuasive – than the simpler, “Don’t be selfish.” Indeed, politicians and pundits use these devices to achieve their desired effect on the reader or listener nearly every time they speak. The stylistic elements in a piece of writing work to produce a desired effect related to the text’s (and author’s) purpose, and thus reveals the rhetorical situation. In classical rhetoric, figures of speech are divided into two main groups: Schemes — Deviation from the ordinary pattern or arrangement of words (transference of order). Tropes — Deviation from the ordinary and principal meaning of a word (transference of meaning). *Important Note: Words marked with an asterisk* are words for which it would be impossible for you to write 3 examples for your weekly vocabulary assignment. In those cases, please write only the definition, in your own words, and the rhetorical uses/effect of that device, or do what you are instructed to do under those words. Please mark these words that deviate...

Words: 7172 - Pages: 29

Premium Essay

It Takes a Nation of Millions

...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 Abstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a result of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement...

Words: 19872 - Pages: 80

Free Essay

Politics

...Critique of Nonviolent Politics From Mahatma Gandhi to the Anti-Nuclear Movement by Howard Ryan (howard@netwood.net) Preface 2 Part I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Problems of Nonviolent Theory Nonviolent Philosophy 6 Moral View: Violence Itself Is Wrong 9 Practical View: Violence Begets Violence 13 Nonviolent Theory of Power 21 Voluntary Suffering 24 Common Nonviolent Arguments 34 A Class Perspective 49 Part II 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gandhi: A Critical History Father of Nonviolence 56 Satyagraha in South Africa 59 Textile Strike 66 Noncooperation Movement 1919-22 70 Religious Conflicts 80 Salt Satyagraha 87 Congress Ministries 97 The War Years 101 Independence and Bloodshed 111 Part III 17 18 19 20 Nonviolence in the Anti-Nuclear Movement Nonviolent Direct Action 120 Consensus Decision Making 123 Open, Friendly, and Respectful 136 Civil Disobedience 142 Epilogue 151 Notes 154 ©2002 by Howard Ryan. All rights reserved. Readers have my permission to use and distribute for non-profit and educational purposes. Critique of Nonviolent Politics 2 Preface (2002) Critique of Nonviolent Politics may be the only comprehensive critique of nonviolent theory that has been written. I wrote it between 1980 and 1984, while living in Berkeley, California. Since 1977, I had been active in the movement against nuclear power and weapons which, in California, focused its protests at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant near San Luis Obispo, and at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore Labs where...

Words: 74845 - Pages: 300