Malcolm X Motives For Civil Rights Essay

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Malcolm X changed the idea most people had about racism and the civil rights movement in the United States of America. Malcolm X was a Minister and civil rights movement leader who influenced many people. When it comes to racism he said to not tolerate anything and protect yourself by any means necessary. Malcolm X’s father was a great influence on his life. Many people were influenced by the decisions and the issues that he addressed in his speeches. Malcolm X was not the only civil rights activist, while MLK and Malcolm X are fighting for the same thing they have different ideas of doing it. Malcolm X provided a new way to look at the world and how people should act when faced with adversity. Malcolm X should be remembered for his great …show more content…

His main motive was to stop racism against African Americans, “He urged his fellow Black Americans to protect themselves against white aggression ‘by any means necessary,’ a stance that often put him at odds with the nonviolent teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr.”(History.com). His motives for the civil rights movement are very similar to Martin Luther King Jr. They had very different ways of how they thought peace and equality should be restored. Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted to keep peace and not harm anyone. He did this by using his words instead of using violence. Malcolm’s idea was if you get slapped on the cheek you slap them back and you should not do anything that seems racially motivated or acts of violence. Malcolm’s motive for doing these things was the racism that he faced when he was growing up and being bullied because of the color of his skin. It didn’t help either that Malcolm’s father died when he was very young. According to Malcolm, the police just wrote it off as a random act of violence and that it was no one in particular. (PBS.org) This made Malcolm furious, and rightfully so because he was put into a foster home when his mom could not make ends meet and had to give up her children. Malcolm X had a very rough time growing up but it influenced thousands of people to adopt the way that he did things and the perspective that he had on the …show more content…

He changed the ideas that people had when it came to racism and white supremacy. He encouraged people to stand up for themselves and that they shouldn’t do anything that seems racially motivated. Malcolm X adopted separatism so he could help make life better for everyone “Malcolm X’s embrace of black separatism shaped the debate over how to achieve freedom and equality in a nation that had long denied a portion of the American citizenry the full protection of their rights.”(Phelan) All Malcolm wanted was for there to be equality and that’s something that everyone should be striving for. He has helped shape the world's idea of racism into something that is cruel and should never happen ever. Malcolm X is and will always be one of the greatest politicians during the civil rights movement for his ways of dealing with racism and what he instructed people to prevent it from happening to