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Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

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During the 1960s in the U.S. life was built around segregation. In which transportation, schools, restaurants, bathrooms and even drinking fountains were separated into two groups. These groups being “whites” and “colored.” If anyone tried to break through these racist ideologies/practices they were threatened, arrested, attacked, and possibly killed. During this time, two African American men led the Civil Rights movement. These men were known as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X and were categorized as opposites in the eyes of society. Where King utterly supported nonviolence and X supported the idea of utilizing any means necessary, even violence, in order to gain headway in the fight for equality. Martin Luther King’s concept of nonviolence …show more content…

Martin Luther King’s strategy was the easiest to conduct as it was less of a risk of harm for the people involved. As they were being peaceful so they would not give people a reason to attack them. With this, if they were attacked, it would be seen as a more inhumane act of unnecessary violence. An example of this was when in 1963, peaceful protestors in Alabama were sprayed with fire hoses which established society viewing the incident as outrageous and awful. This was also demonstrated when three men were killed in Mississippi because of their involvement in the Civil Rights movement. They had been helping African Americans register to vote in the South. Their murders caused public disapproval due to the brutal way they were killed, as they were tortured, beaten, and shot. This angered society furthermore as these men never did any action with malice or provoked …show more content…

This led to more Whites joining the cause as they were more accepted in going to the protests and speeches and they did not have as high of a risk transpiring in the crowds. Also, this nonviolence was supported through the Brown vs Board of Education verdict in which it was deemed unconstitutional to have segregated schooling as it created unequal opportunities for the individual races. In this, select children were allowed to go to “white” schools. They were harassed and threatened every day they went to school. This angered civilians as they were innocent and possessed no ill intentions as they just wanted to have a proper education and possibly introduce the practice of a simple form of integration. This unwarranted hate and aggression were also a result of African Americans being able to vote in certain elections in the South. These voters were attacked, beaten, and killed solely for wanting a say in who controls the decisions that influence their lives. The disapproval and aggression angered African Americans more as during this time it was quite common for African Americans to be nannies for White families. Which meant that these people were able to raise and influence the next generation but were not allowed to vote for their own rights. Also, through the Civil

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