In the late 1950s and most of 1960, racism and discrimination covered most streets of America. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X played a huge role in America during this time. Both men became the face of the Civil Rights movement and greatly impacted the lives of many African Americans. As divergent as their policies were, they had the same goal; to end discrimination and racism. They spent a great amount of time spreading the message of equality across the country and helped make huge changes possible. Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael King Jr on January 25, 1929. Raised in a middle class home in rural Georgia, he was the second child of Michael King Sr. (later Martin Luther King Sr.) and Alberta Williams King. King showed high …show more content…
Born Malcolm Little on the 9th of May 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm was the fourth of eight children. His mother, Louise, was a housekeeper and his father, Earl Little, was a Baptist preacher. He experienced extreme amount of racism throughout his life. At age 4, he had to move to East Lansing, Michigan after local KKK members attacked his family in Omaha. Subsequent to their arrival in East Lansing, the family home was burned by a racist mob and authorities refused to respond to the situation. In 1931, two years after the fire incident, Earl Little was found dead and his death was ruled a suicide though he had received several death threats. 1n 1939, when Malcolm was 12, Louise was admitted to a mental institute and he was placed in foster care. Malcolm was a bright student, but some saw him as a boy with a ’no purpose’ life. He was told by a teacher to “be realistic. . . and plan on carpentry” when he stated he wanted to become a lawyer. Fifteen-years-old Malcolm dropped out of high school and his life took a dreadful turn. He moved to Boston, where he became a drug dealer. His troubled youth eventually resulted in his ten years sentence in 1946. While in jail, Malcolm converted to the Nation of Islam, and upon his release from prison, he changed his name to Malcolm X. He worked closely with the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, who became his mentor. Malcolm got married to Betty Shabazz in 1958 and became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the early