Baby Baby Baby

This weeks reading is somewhat of a refreshing change from previous weeks as it highlights the dreams and visions of those (Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X, Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko) who strived for a world without white oppression, although the philosophies they embraced differed. An example of this is through the comparison of MLK and Malcom X through the readings of James M Washington's, A Testament of Hope and Malcom X's "The Black Revolution". Initially, there a common threads throughout the readings that unite them, namely a combined religiosity with political leadership that morphed into a demand for social and economic equality. However, as we continue we are able to characterise these figures as the peaceful and non-violent MLK and the revolutionary and radical Malcom X. Malcom X preached independence and a "by any means necessary" (Karim 1963) approach to achieving equality in America, and on the other, King preached a non violent, disobedient philosophy similar to that of Ghandi (Washington 1991), in the achievement of Indian independence earlier in the century. Despite their differences, King and Malcolm X represented the same cause, and with the achievement of the movement, left a similar legacy to generations of Americans seeking change in their own time. However, from a comparative perspective, one cannot imagine a civil rights movement without the tactics King favored, or a successful movement characterized by the kind of violence and hatred advocated by Malcolm X. Similarly, this process can be applied in the analysis of Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko in the readings of Nelson Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and Steve Biko's "I Write What I Like". In his reading, Biko, in the vein of Malcom X, was very open to and enforced the idea of Black power as a means of eradicating Apartheid, and it is apparent through the readings that he believed that Blacks could not rely on help or assistance from whites, and should therefore "withdraw