Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X

Focusing specifically on the opposition of racial segregation, The Civil Rights movement symbolized the need for change across America. Between the years of 1950 and 1960, events such as; the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, speeches, protests, and sit-ins, directly defined such opposition. Due to such events, two outstanding leaders of their time, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X emerged into the public eye and began to impact the Civil Rights movement. At a turning point of the century, the two men took charge and became icons across the world while resonating significantly with African American minorities. With such in mind, the two men had extreme differences in their morals, ideals, and religions; however, both deemed

was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a pastor at a local church, while his mother took care of his two siblings, Willie and Alfred. As King began to get older, he “attended Booker T. Washington High School” (www.biography.com). Martin Luther King Jr. was exceptional throughout his studies and even “skipped ninth and eleventh grade...attending college when he was only fifteen years old” (www.biography.com). After completing his master's degree, King “began his doctorate at Boston College, where he met Coretta Scott” (www.biography.com). The two fell in love instantly, got married in 1953 and had four children; Yolanda, Martin Luther King Jr. III, Dexter, and Bernice. The family lived in Atlanta, Georgia and then to Montgomery, Alabama, where King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church at age twenty-five. He soon forced on the Civil Rights movement and dedicated almost all of his time into fighting for equality. With all his contributions, King “won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his Civil Rights achievements” (Nimtz 1). At the end of his life, King was still going strong until his assassination “by James Earl Ray on April 3rd, 1968” (Nimtz

were African American males, fighting for Civil Rights during the 1950’s and 1960’s. while these two men did withstand much common ground, they often debated over violence. On one hand, Martin Luther King Jr. was born into a Christian home, where he was extremely religious, and followed in his father's footsteps as a pastor. Martin Luther King Jr. felt that violence did no good, it only caused more harm. Throughout his speeches and protests, he even elaborated on how insignificant violence and harm was in hurting others, besides physically. King believed in “peace, no violence, and unity between all” (www.biography.com). In contrast, Malcolm X was all for violence. Malcolm X was born into a Muslim household. He relied heavily on his faith and was extremely influential towards pushing others to join the Islamic community. During his journey Malcolm X even “grew the Islamic population in America from 4,000 to 40,000 members by 1960” (www.biography.com), proving his dedication to the Muslim faith. Throughout his speeches, he spoke about the importance of violence and how it was often necessary to endure such harm, once stating, “Power real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action” (www.biography.com). Although these two men differed in their thought on violence, they often agreed on how important their fights were. Without Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Civil Rights would have been nonexistent,