Differences And Similarities Between Malcolm X And Nelson Mandela

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Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela were such influential people whose societies helped mold them into who they became. Both Malcolm X and Mandela lived in societies that had a legal system of oppression on blacks. In the United States, the KKK was very prominent while Malcolm X was growing up. The Ku Klux Klan advocated for white supremacy and white nationalism and terrorized groups they opposed, such as blacks. Even before Malcolm was born, he and his family experienced oppression from the Klan. Eventually a part of the KKK, the Black Legion, killed Malcolm’s father. Unlike experiences from threats from a specific group, Nelson Mandela faced discrimination and oppression from the overall South African government. Mandela grew up during apartheid, which was a rigid policy segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite …show more content…

Later, they both realized that vicious attacks would not solve the problem and that they must approach it peacefully. This realization came to both men while they were in prison. Malcolm X was put in prison for criminal activity while Mandela was imprisoned for his activist actions against apartheid. Although both men experienced oppression, the ways their societies expressed it was different. In the United States, specific groups, such as the KKK, were responsible for the injustice of nonwhite people. However in South Africa, the oppression was a legal problem and was run by the government. Malcolm X had to stand up for what he believed against a large and powerful group of people while Nelson Mandela had to defy the entire South African government to make a change. Without these men taking a stand, the world would not be how it is today. Both men did the impossible and fought against their societies for freedom of blacks and all