Mlk Vs Malcolm X Comparison Essay

Julia Schulz O’Brien Honors U.S. History II May 10, 2024 Title (undecided so far) In our current society, the stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are perceived to be very different from one another. Martin Luther King is often remembered as a forgiving saint, while Malcolm X is villainized as a crazed, bloodthirsty white-hater. This difference reflects the oversimplification of history and the disregard for how the two civil rights leaders evolved throughout their campaigns. Towards the end of their civil rights careers, both King and Malcolm X began to change, adopting each other’s philosophies and becoming more like each other. As a result, Martin Luther King became more radicalized while Malcolm X abandoned his beliefs in revolution

In 1619, the first enslaved Africans, or African servants were brought to the British colony of Jamestown. This small group of around 20 servants can be considered the beginnings of slavery in Virginia, despite them not being considered chattel slaves. Chattel slavery didn’t begin until 1776, when it became the primary form of slavery across the United States. Chattel slavery was a system where enslaved people were treated more like property instead of people, and fell under the complete ownership of their enslaver. Slaves endured torturous conditions like forced labor in plantations, physical abuse, unsafe and unsanitary housing, sexual abuse as well as being separated from their families, and the suppression of culture. Some common punishments for slaves who disobeyed or failed to complete their tasks were whipping or other torture devices like leg shackles, collars, or iron muzzles. Although the enslaved tried to revolt like in Nat Turner’s Rebellion, White authorities quickly crushed the rebellion and in retaliation, White mobs killed hundreds of

Although he advocated self-defense over violence, present memory often depicts him to be a violent militant figure. Why is this a problem? To understand why people have this image of him, we need to understand Malcolm X’s childhood and early career as a civil rights activist. From a young child, Malcolm X experienced a tough upbringing affected by poverty, racism, and instability. His father was a dedicated organizer for Marcus Garvey’s U.N.I.A. and a strong supporter of African Americans returning to Africa. Malcolm's being exposed to these beliefs from an early age greatly affected his future campaigns and ideologies. Malcolm X was also a victim of White violence from an early age, and most of his family members died due to it. His first memory of the violence dates back to when two White men set fire to his home, forcing his mother and him to narrowly escape the flames. However, even after moving to East Lansing, Malcolm X’s family life was still far from ideal. His father would beat his mother and his siblings as