Compare And Contrast Malcolm X And Martin Luther King Jr

Rachel Pisarcik and Oscar Wolf

Ms. Argento

Period 7

1 May 2017

Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X: Two Roots of Black Civil Rights Martin Luther King and Malcolm X both shared similar struggles throughout their lives, yet they grew up to be two very different men who fought for black civil rights. Martin Luther King grew up in a normal family, and faced normal struggles for black people throughout his life. He eventually grew up to be a famous black civil rights leader who lead peaceful protests such as the famous March on Washington, and also did his best to unite the black and white races. In contrast, Malcolm X grew up in poverty, and struggled through most of his early life; he was also put in jail, where he learned of the NOI and adopted

He grew up in a religious family and his father was a preacher, which influenced him later on. Dr. King believed that racism was prevalent throughout society and that it was ingrained into the minds of society for generations. He believed that after the times of slavery, black people were given a set of standards and expectations that were lower than the standards of white people (Large). He expressed his goal of overcoming these preset limitations and making a society that tolerates all. He began a career of advocating for civil rights and preaching for equality (2). He delivered speeches that inspired hundreds of thousands of people, gaining an enormous amount of support from many different communities. Dr. King talked about and argued many of his ideas and voiced them to the

King had several different ideals and goals that he wished to ingrain into Americans and society. King’s main goal was to end racial discrimination and transform society into a loving, tolerant, and peaceful culture (3). Dr. King believed in the power of love, and preached love and nonviolence as the normal upholding of the universe. He adamantly encouraged people to not fight with violence but to continue to stand for what they believe in no matter what. He also insisted upon individuality and uniqueness of all people so as to prevent people from discriminating and judging based on racial prejudices (4). He thought that people would no longer see a need to discriminate so long as all people accepted and embraced who they were. King did not want to bring down oppressors, but instead wanted to bring everybody to a loving, equal society (5). He sought to make everyone equal so that nobody would discriminate against anyone else. King denounced segregation as a method of remedy and rejected its existence (6). King proposed that physical slavery is what led to mental slavery. He reflected upon the days of slavery and concluded that African-Americans were deep-seeded with a belief that they were lesser than white people. He wished to assist the public in moving past the times of slavery and look forward to a tolerant tomorrow. He wanted to widen the views of all oppressors and awaken the sense of dignity among the oppressed (7). He understood that persecutors were not willing