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Compare And Contrast Malcolm X And Martin Luther King Jr

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Two of the most influential civil rights activists who fought for the rights and equality of African Americans were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. both had different views on whether or not violence or non violence was the key to gaining equality for blacks. They very much differed on the question of violence because as Malcolm was for it King was against it. King believed in a nonviolent approach to end segregation, and knew that white segregationist would eventually act on behalf of his nonviolent acts because the issue couldn’t be ignored forever. Malcolm, on the other hand, believed violence was the only way to get segregationist to act. Though Malcolm never used violence, Malcolm knew that by threatening the white man the white man would then react to the threat. Although they viewed things differently, one can see how both Malcolm and King structured their work around Bitzer’s rhetorical analysis method. Lloyd Bitzer’s method usually starts with the exigence also known as the problem. Both Malcolm X and King faced the same problem during their time. The problem for them was how unjust and unfairly blacks were treated …show more content…

One strong constraint that he gives is when he talks about, women and children being hosed down tearing off their clothes. He knew that they had seen it, but they didn’t really know what it’s like to have that happen to them. Another constraint is that the government passes laws, but they can’t enforce them, for example the Supreme Court desegregation decision. Malcolm states, “When you have a country that can’t enforce laws that will benefit a black man how much heart do you think we will get when they pass more civil rights legislation.”(4:00) Malcolm believed the only way they would be able to enforce them properly is by going to a measure of

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Since the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1863 there was a perpetual battle for African American equality in the United States that was a key part of our history throughout the twentieth century. Anne Moody’s Coming of in Mississippi is a book that greatly outlines the hardships faced by a black individual during the fight for equality. One main theme covered in the book is whether violent or nonviolent action is more productive in the fight for equality. This argument is one that defined various African American leaders in the mid nineteenth century. Leaders such as Martin Luther King prided themselves on nonviolent protests while others such as Malcolm X argued that violence was needed to truly reach equality.

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Civil rights for African Americans are beneficial for the United States as a country either using violent or nonviolent methods to achieve this goal. African American civil rights have been fighting for over many years and the most used civil rights movement's methods have been by non violence used by Martin Luther King Jr. and violence used by Malcolm X. Dr. King and Malcolm X both respected civil rights movement leaders have used violence and nonviolence to their advantage to achieve the goal of African American civil rights. Both respected leaders conducted many acts to achieve the same reward with contrasting methods, even with Dr. King is Christian and Malcolm X a Muslim. America should have confronted the inequalities of the 1960’s by creating a peaceful protest and movement, but if civil rights and peace for are not given, then violence protests should take place in a certain amount of time.

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In the end, even though both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King both have a similar goals,they both have diffrent way of achieving them. Malcolm X uses repetition to to bluntly state his purposes and to point out issues. Martin Luther King Uses parallel structure to refute what the clergymen had to say about the actions of the blacks and labeling him an extremist. Yet even though both malcolm X and Martin Luther king did use rhetorical question, they used it to serve different purposes. Malcolm X used it to get the audience thinking on what they should do next and how they did not accomplish anything, while Martin Luther King used it to question the Clergymen's way of thinking and to ask where the white christians were at when blacks were being

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1071 Words | 5 Pages

During, the fight for civil rights in the late 1950s and 1960s two men stood up to lead the black community to fight for their rights and their equality. In the 1960’s it was a hard time for black Americans to consider themselves as equals due to the laws in the United States of America. The Civil War had stopped slavery but hadn’t stopped discrimination towards blacks. To help their fellow African Americans, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. both wanted to find a way that could and a way that should help all African Americans receive equality in a world where they weren’t wanted.

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Philosophical differences between martin luther king and malcolm X The philosophical differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X have to do with the their protest strategies. MLK never fought with violence. Although he would get physically attacked, he stood his ground and continued to fight for equality peacefully. King believed that whites and blacks should come together to end the hate and violence.

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971 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. A Brief History with Documents written by David Howard-Pitney is a great history book that gives us an entry into two important American thinkers and a tumultuous part of American history. This 207-pages book was published by Bedford/St. Martin’s in Boston, New York on February 20, 2004. David Howard-Pitney worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986, and that made him a specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders ' thought and rhetoric (208). Another publication of Howard-Pitney is The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

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Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X actively fought for equality among African Americans. They struggled with a lack of job opportunities and equal rights. Martin Luthur King Jr. and Malcolm X had a common purpose for African Americans. They both fought for justice and equailty, which was demonstrated through their speeches. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X captured the attention of African Americans by fighting for equal rights and treatment.

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Martin Luther King Jr said,“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”. In the late 1960s, racial tension was high, African Americans were not given the right to vote, the right to a fair education, and the right to a fair judgement. This then led to the separation of schools and the destruction of a normal livelihood. Dr.King and Malcolm X, two men in the face of oppression rose up to challenge the racial barrier, thus changing the world forever. Although Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X seem to have mutual respect and an equal understanding of the inequality, their philosophies were quite different from each other.

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In the 1960s, Malcolm’s approach would have been more effective in unifying African Americans. This is proven with Malcolm's answer in “Message to Grassroots” when he explains that,“if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country. . . (4)”. Malcolm explains how African Americans should defend themselves at all costs, especially since white people expect African Americans to fight for them in war to overall defend white people as a whole. Malcolm’s approach would be best used in the 1960’s because many people, similar to him, were tired of a lack of change regarding equality for African Americans.

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On June 28, 1964, the Black Nationalist leader Malcolm X delivered a very powerful speech. A speech called “By Any Means Necessary”. During the time of speech, the major issue of the United States was gaining the true rights of an African American. Although Slavery had been abolished, blacks were still treated as less than human. Over the years, they worked hard to get their rights and are continuing to do so.

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In the 60s, it was a time of major political and equality shifts in America—especially for the African Americans at that time. Participating in freedom rides, peaceful marches, sit-ins, and—at times—violence; all to make others across the nation understand that they deserve the same amount of equal opportunity. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that to get to that goal of equal opportunity was through a nonviolent method, using your words and marching peacefully instead of using your fist in constant anger. While Malcolm X, in retrospect, believed that nothing would have gotten done if you just sat down and waited, violence was necessary. They were both amazing and aspiring orators of their time, but for the most influential when addressing

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645 Words | 3 Pages

Who does not enjoy reading a passage from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X? The answer is lot of conservative people in our society. There is a difference between reading and comprehending, and with theses two great leaders you must understand their objective. Once you understand it, it is difficult to disagree with their views. In my case, of course I agree with their views and material because it is still relevant to this day.

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During the civil rights movement of the 1950’s, there were three general attitudes about black rights that became prevalent in the African-American communities, the ideas presented by Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the ideas of the Black Panthers. Summed up short, Martin Luther King based all of his ideas on his “I Have A Dream Speech,” and the ideas of peace, from Mahatma Gandhi. While MLK Jr. supported the ideas of peace, Malcolm X and the Black Panthers both took opposite approaches- they believed their protests must be done with force. The ideas of the three are all different in their view points toward gaining civil rights for the African-American population of the United States.

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947 Words | 4 Pages

Important and influential speeches made during this time were Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” and Malcolm X’s “By Any Means Necessary” speech. While having the same messaging, both speeches had very different approaches in how they would handle racial inequality, such as “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin.” and “.to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this Earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” This means that, while King wanted to achieve racial equality through peaceful and nonviolent protests, as seen in the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm wanted the more radical and violent efforts to achieve equality that would be frequently seen during the Black Power Movement, such as the creation of the Black Panther Party.

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The United States has a long and well known history of practicing injustices and oppression toward people of color, more so towards African-Americans. This has emerged many civil rights movements during the 1960’s lead by powerful black leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Though each of these leaders views on how to obtain civil rights for the African American community were polar opposite, their goal was similar. For the sake of this essay, we will discuss three of Malcolm X’s argument, which he makes in his speeches, such as the use of violence for self defense, as a means of communication and as a response to injustice, in order to to justify his views on why he believes that the African-American community should not use the nonviolent approach in order to obtain their goal. We will also analyze how Martin Luther King may have responded to Malcolm X’s arguments, such as his idea

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