Justin Hollinger Class Prof Date Essay The Civil Rights Movement in the United States is one of the most significant and powerful social and political movements in modern history. African American discrimination was rampant during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the early and late 1960s. This grassroots movement aims to dismantle systematic racism and discrimination against African Americans. They demanded equal rights and opportunities through society that they had been deprived of. Two of the most influential figures at the time that led this movement were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Their two different approaches, which followed two completely different ideologies, played crucial roles in bringing together the African …show more content…
Martin Luther King, Jr. was raised in a deeply religious household where he was greatly influenced by his father who was a Baptist minister. King went to college to study religion to pursue a career as a pastor, and as a leader of the church, and this is where he gained his popularity and following as a civil rights leader. Many of his philosophies and speeches lean on the Christian teachings that he references. King emphasized the principles in the Bible such as love, justice, nonviolence, and forgiveness which he integrates into his push for civil rights. King’s popularity as a civil rights activist became catalyzed after the Montgomery Bus Boycott in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks. After this he became the spokesperson for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was an organization dedicated to advancing civil rights through nonviolent demonstrations. King played an immense role in organizing marches, demonstrations, and sit-ins that were targeted at stopping racial segregation and ensuring voting rights for all African Americans. Malcolm X had a very different upbringing from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and this is reflected in his …show more content…
Malcolm X believed that African Americans needed to assert their rights and autonomy through the teachings of Islam to guide their Civil Rights journey. He claimed Islam as a vessel for Black liberation and empowerment, using the Quran to inspire African Americans to reclaim their identity and heritage. Malcolm X rejected the principles of nonviolence and integration because of his involvement with the Nation of Islam and its beliefs. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Christian faith was the basis of his nonviolent resistance and his vision of a community where everyone could live together as one. Malcolm X’s views because the Nation of Islam embraced a more radical and confrontational approach to activism. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X held very different views on the efficiency and morality of nonviolence as the main strategy of the Civil Rights Movement. King believed that nonviolence was not only a morally superior tactic but a strategic one because it was capable of winning over public opinion and effecting long social