What Is Malcolm X's Activism

When the Civil Rights movement is often spoken about, the one name that is constantly recognized is Martin Luther King Jr. Although this man deserves every ounce of credit for his activism and progressiveness for the minorities of this country, a name that is sadly more controversial and divisive is Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X. Coming from poverty himself, Malcolm was no stranger to the difficulties of sustaining his own life while trying to get by in a country whose policies and moralities were often conflicted and confused with bigotry and ignorance. His reward for his own activism came on February 21, 1965 when he was brutally murdered in New York City by members of the Nation of Islam while speaking at one of his rallies ("Malcolm

Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. disagreed on the avocation of violence when faced with violence. King Jr. was vehemently opposed to any type of violence at all. At his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in Stockholm, Sweden in 1964 King Jr. famously said “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it” ("Famous Quotes | Martin Luther King Program at WSU"). Malcolm X would hold the complete opposite in views saying “Any time a shepherd, a pastor, teaches you and me not to run from the white man, and, at the same time, teaches us not to fight the white man, he’s a traitor to you and me” (Epps, 67). While these two viewpoints are vastly contradictive in their core beliefs alone, the feelings of these two men were emulated throughout the country. King Jr. believed that the only way to win was to show the country that any African American was just like any other White man or minority that lived here. Malcolm X sought to keep the segregation that was already intact and to instead build up the African American community through keeping to themselves and keeping out of the hatred and bigotry of the country. He believed that if people attacked his race then his race had the right to defend themselves. He gave

Unequal pay, support from the government, or even help from the local law enforcement was near impossible. This type of demeaning nature of showing African American’s as thugs and nuisances would only be prolonged through the decades as even President Reagan would call upon the ‘welfare queen’ false stereotype. People’s minds would be easily swayed by what they saw and read through newspapers and television. Throughout all of Malcolm X’s widespread years of prominence, he had to battle with being misquoted and having his words taken from him in the wrong tone or inflection. Although he did still hold values which were quite radical and even held in a violent undertone, he never promoted, in his mind, the usage of unjust violence upon the police or government. Malcolm X’s wisdom included him saying, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses” ("Malcolm X Quotes (Author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X)”). Because he was so unspoken people looked up to him. He railed up the crowds and got them to think about their freedom. His tuff approaches and new way of thinking made that generation of African Americans to fight even harder for the rights they desperately wanted and deserved. It was this type of influence that made