Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, both important male figures within the black movement, differed stylistically in approach, and as result, continue to be portrayed contrastingly in media. King, has always been viewed as the less radical, more softer, and politically driven, while Malcolm X is seen as harsh, radical, and often continues to be widely demonized in pop culture. And, the difference essentially comes about from their approach. King focused on a more political, nonviolent approach, while Malcolm X valued a black nationalist approach. While culturally these two men have contrasting impacts on society, they are similar in radical approaches. King is depicted as far from radical, when in fact King is even morse so radical than Malcolm.

In the case of Martin Luther King, he did thoroughly practice a nonviolent path, but was ultimately still radical in his approach due to his pragmatic ideology. King was not idle in his approach, but instead was for immediate action, stating in his letter “now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity” (King 5). And, his call for immediate action in itself can be viewed as extremely radical being that his desire for action could entail radical-like decisions to further his goal. Now, King was not one to disobey just laws or practice violence, but he was willing to go against laws he saw unjust as well as use any force necessary, as long as it was nonviolent, to further his cause. King himself stated “we know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King 2), meaning that in order for black individuals to be guaranteed their rights, they must call for action themselves, and rather than wait for change, they

Within his theory of black nationalism, Malcolm hoped to create an environment solely comprised of black individuals that focused on black issues politically, socially, and economically. And for many, this was a problem. His exclusion of the white male was as highly radical. In his speeches, and works, statements such as these were reason to believe Malcolm was radical, he said things such as “all of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man” (The Ballot or The Bullet 341), but within the same statement would go on to further state, “now in speaking like this, it doesn't mean that we're anti-white, but it does mean we're anti-exploitation, we're anti-degradation, we're anti-oppression. And if the white man doesn't want us to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us” (The Ballot or The Bullet 341). But, while Malcolm made it clear that the whole problem is not solely placed on white males, his actions of excluding white people from his movement was seen as highly unsettling to most. So, while King made a place for white people in the movement, Malcolm did not, and that upset many. But, that still does not justify to heightened placement of radicalism on Malcolm. Malcolm was