The civil rights movement of the 1960s was a long-due struggle by African Americans to gain rights equal to those of whites. They wanted fair treatment, equal employment opportunity, the right to vote, and other rights that white Americans got to enjoy under the U.S. Constitution that declared equality for all. (Unless you’re black). Activist leaders had two approaches to this: complete nonviolence, or equality by any means necessary. Two civil rights leaders of the time who epitomize these philosophies are Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Although both had their strengths and both had their weaknesses, Kings approach made the most sense for America in the 1960s. In King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, he paints a picture of brotherhood and love between white and black people living together in equality. He calls for integration. Malcolm X believes the opposite, that although blacks and whites should have equal rights, they should be separate. He believes that it is ok for whites to “form their own all-white groups”, as long as blacks have the same privilege. Martin Luther King’s …show more content…
He wants “negroes and whites [studying] side by side…” Again, Malcolm X disagrees. He believes that black children should go to their own schools in order to “liberate the minds of our children from the vicious lies and distortions that are fed from the cradle to keep us mentally enslaved.” This is a fair point- in the 1960s, white people and professors and schools were definitely trying to keep black students oppressed. And even today, black history and culture is not prioritized in school curriculums the way Malcolm X would want to see it be. Despite the problems that can, and have, risen from integration in schools, it is still the better option. Equality cannot be reached through separation. However, 50 years later, there are still many great strides to be taken to reach total racial equality in