Jazmyne Reining Comparing and contrasting two great people. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are very prominent African American individuals throughout history. They fought for what they stood for but in many different ways. As we all know in history there are no two great men that are alike. Their many beliefs may have blossomed from the households they came from and how they grew up. King grew up in a middle class family and was well educated.
While, Malcolm X grew up in an underprivileged environment that was very hostile with barely any schooling. Martin Luther King Jr. was always against violence, throughout his entire ministry. He always stood his ground, and he stood out because even though he may have been physically attacked, he never reacted with violence. Martin Luther King Jr. followed the Christian faith. Malcolm X was a Muslim, and believed in Muslim principles. His most famous line was “By any Means Necessary”.
He believed in fighting back physically. Many people say Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were so different because Malcolm X was so violent and had a lot of hatred but if you really look at their speeches and the words they would say it isn’t really all that true Malcolm X was just more aggressive and straight forward while Martin Luther King was more charismatic and calming. “I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color. (Malcolm X) This quote pretty much explains itself it shows tell us how he believes that all humans should be equal that whites and blacks are all human and no different then others and that blacks should be respected just like the white men. “Don’t let anybody frighten you we are not afraid of what we are doing…we the disinherited of this land, we who have been oppressed so long are tired of going through the long night of captivity. ”(Martin Luther King) As you can see MLK was a better motivational speaker then Malcolm but he and Malcolm said closely the same things just worded differently.
Here MLK is saying that blacks have been treated different for many years and they are tired of it, they want to be treated equal and they will not let anybody frighten them or bring them down. ““We can never get civil rights in America until our human rights are first restored. We will never be recognized as citizens until we are first recognized as humans. ” (Malcolm X) This quote is referring to the government and its people; he is saying that the government needs to recognize blacks as people and humans before they can become citizens. I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government. ”(Martin Luther King) He is also talking about the government, he is saying that it doesn’t really matter if he just speaks to his community he also needs to make sure the government hears him and see him for who he is in order to change and make a difference in how blacks are treated.
But even though MLK and Malcolm were a like they also were different in many ways, One of the most famous civil rights acts was the March on Washington, which portrays the different perspectives of Martin Luther King. and Malcolm X. The March on Washington took place on August 28, 1963. Over 20,000 people came to march from Washington to the Lincoln memorial in Washington D. C. This march happened to be one of Martin Luther King’s greatest accomplishments throughout his life.
This event is where he took the crown for the face of the civil rights movement. Even in a time of violence, King would never act out. King wanted all the races to come together for the hatred and violence to be put to a halt. Malcolm X had a different perspective regarding the march. He felt that integration would destroy the black and the white man. He felt that American blacks should be more concerned with helping each other.
He felt blacks should start by giving the same race self-respect first. He did not agree with what King had to say, he felt that “kings dream was not a dream but a nightmare. ” MLK and Malcolm had many similarities and differences they both thought that things needed to change but one was more aggressive and factual then the other, but at the end of the day when it all came down to it they were each fighting for one thing… freedom and equalitly for the black community.
