Malcolm X Dbq

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Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X were two leaders of their time that were committed to the struggle for civil rights and equality for black people. Despite their fight for the same struggle, they had different ideas about the best way to achieve these goals. Martin Luther King Junior believed that nonviolent protest methods were crucial in the pursuit of equality for all people in order to build a beloved community. King offers the best solution to the needs and problems of the black community over Malcolm X. Malcolm X advocated for violent protest methods whereas King’s means of non-violent resistance was the more effective way to bring about change all while promoting love and reconciliation against forces of evil. Martin Luther …show more content…

While the two had a common goal of ending racial discrimination and achieving equality, Martin Luther King Jr. has the better approach of nonviolence and peaceful resistance. King explains his approach in a way that would be the best solution to problems confronted by the Black community, as in Document 5, He states, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.” His strategy of nonviolent resistance, which included boycotts, sit-ins, and peaceful protests, put pressure on political leaders and the public to address the systemic inequalities faced by black Americans. This is deemed to be successful as his approach lead to the passage of landmark civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Not only did King pave the way for civil rights laws for the black community, but he emphasized his principles of love and equality which was emphasizing the need for unity and solidarity. In Document 4, He states, “This was always a cry that we had to set before people that our aim is not to defeat the white community, not to humiliate the white community, but to win the friendship of all of the persons who had perpetrated this system in the past.” King’s message of love and unity resonated with individuals of all backgrounds. This would ultimately end the divide between black and whites whereas Malcolm X wanted to create more division which would result in bitterness from his violent approach. In Document 2 Malcolm X stated, “The white man is by nature a devil and must be destroyed. The black man will inherit the earth; he will resume control, taking back the position he held centuries ago when the white