Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

Malcolm X vs Martin Luther King Jr.

Ibrahim Noor

In 1960s, the black communities in the were beginning to realize their constitutional rights, and there were two bold men that decided to take a stand, no matter the consequences. These great men were known as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They were both greatly influential leaders of the Civil Right Movement, who strove for the same final goal, but, they differed slightly in their social backgrounds, religious beliefs and ideologies. This became clear in speeches they gave. An example from each is “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech by Malcolm X and Martin’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. These speeches and their actions symbolized their ideas toward the apartheid and the different ways

However, the difference in their views of, and response to American racism were clearly different. Martin adopted an integrationist philosophy, in which he believed that blacks and whites should be united and live together in peace(After leaving the nation of Islam. While King was very inspired by Gandhi and his teachings. He encouraged his followers to passive, non-violent resistance. Speaking to all of the Black community, King made statements like, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”, demanding for the black community to stick together as all are being affected. Malcolm X had a similar ideas as portrayed in this quote, “All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.”, again supporting the idea that ALL blacks are affected from this apartheid. However he promoted it differently. Malcolm X's philosophies had a contrast to those of Martin Luther King because he believed that only through revolt and force could blacks attain their rightful place in society. His famous line was "By any means necessary" and he spoke of violent revolution by claiming, "If it's necessary to form a Black Nationalist army, we'll form a Black Nationalist army. It'll be the ballot or the bullet. It'll be liberty or it'll be death". This is the main area where their ideas differ, from a standpoint of their upbringing and environment. Malcolm X wanted direct action, he wanted Black peoples to go and cause problems and stand out to show that they were being oppressed. Martin Luther King, however, supported peaceful protest as hinted in this quote “One has not only a legal, but a moral