Preview

Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
915 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X
With the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in 1954, African Americans were determined to gain peace for their race while holding the government accountable for the growing racism and racial inequality within the country. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were human and civil rights leaders who strove to find solutions to eliminate racial inequality issues that had consumed the United States of America for decades. However, King and Malcolm held differing views on solutions and approaches to eliminating racial inequality and providing freedom for all races. Baptist minister and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of civil rights supporters as a call to end racism in the United States as well as civil and economic rights for all races. In the introduction of the speech, he discussed the day that America’s forefathers signed the Emancipation Proclamation was a beacon of light for enslaved African Americans, as they would one day be free and seen as individuals rather than slaves. King states, “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” Continuing, Dr. King believes that the origin of racial inequality lies solely with America and the refusal to view all races as equal, like the forefathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X’s understandings of racial inequality and their probable solutions, I believe they held conflicting views on resolutions for racial inequality based on their attitudes toward Whites. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for the integration of African Americans and Whites, while Malcolm X advocated for the separation of the two races. I believe their viewpoints concerning the previous statement influenced their solution to end the problem of racial

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X had tremendous impacts on the Civil Right Movement, and continue to influence the lives of Americans today. Today, Dr. King is considered to be one of the…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Because of the life that Malcolm X and Martin Luther King lived was responsible for the distinct different responses to American racism. Both men were important to the African-American culture and had a great influence on black Americans. However, King had a more positive attitude than Malcolm X. He believed that through peaceful demonstrations and arguments blacks were able to someday achieve full equality with whites. Because Malcolm X’s life was reflected by angry and pessimistic belief he thought that equality was impossible because whites had no moral conscience. King basically adopted on an integrationalist philosophy that thought that blacks and whites should be united and live together in peace, but Malcolm X promoted nationalist and separatist doctrines. For most of his life, he believed that only through revolution and…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Inquiry Question: Who had a more civil approach? What are the differences between them based on their approaches? Whose approaches led to less controversy?…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When asked to compare the similarities and differences of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, it is shown that all though they had some different ideas, they used many similar speaking techniques known as Rhetorical devices. Through the uses of Rhetorical Devices and appeals, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were able to acquire a position of power. Many people believe Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were opposites because of their tactics, based on the fact that Martin Luther King Jr. was kind and peaceful, and Malcolm was aggressive yet effective, it’s obvious that they both wanted the same thing. Which was better? Stay tuned to find out.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King JR. in their respective arguments “The Ballot or the bullet” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” argue the injustice that is segregation. Malcolm X was a Muslim minister who advocated for the civil rights of the African American race that at the time was oppressed. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister who advocated for the same cause but with a peaceful approach. X used his influence to bring about much needed change in the American society. MLK brought attention to the civil rights movement by using non-violent tactics to show the racist white people as the ones in the wrong. King argues that a peaceful resolution can be reached with the help of people that are willing to practice civil disobedience. Malcolm X asserts that although peaceful resolution would be preferred people should fight back of the occasion calls for it instead of being stepped all over.…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King, Jr., a Civil Rights Activist of the 1950s, delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 to advocate for equal rights for all ethnicities and to convey the message that unity is essential to the strength of society. Martin Luther King, Jr. starts his speech by uniting the audience under a similar belief that, “all men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My understanding of the civil rights movement have not quite changed a lot. The civil rights movement was a response of the disfranchisement of African-Americans during the time. It showed courage on how the leaders of the movement stepped up to take action by realizing that they are not gonna be treated bad, that thy are going to be treated equal like all the other men and women of the United States of America. In my opinion, I highly disagree in saying Malcolm X and Martin Luther King have been distorted by history. They are know as heroes today, because of the leadership and courage they showed of stepping up and telling who they were and what they deserve. Martin Luther King took a role to help the African American community to realize…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The distinctive quality a person has identifies them as a person in the social network. We are all different, different in our looks, different in our religions, and different in our beliefs. Scientists have proven that there are some traits which are hereditary and they don’t have anything to do with the life experiences. The other traits are those which you develop overtime due to various incidents in life. These are the learned traits and these can be eliminated with effort. With this in mind, we can now form justifications to the similarities and differences between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; in the way they approach the problem, the type of person they are and reasons that justify that.…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Morgan Mcbride

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s acts of violence really hurt the nation when it came to individuals treating others equally. Having a different skin color really was a huge deal for our nation, especially in the south. Not only wanting to put an end to the racism and the horrible treatments for the blacks and poor whites, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to implement the most successful way to end racism. The philosophies and theories of these two men will soon be presented and proven which man was more successful.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Acquiring civil rights is the target of King and Malcolm X. They have the different reactions to the majority. The leader for the equality, King, describes the situations why he has to be in Birmingham jail. King’s purpose is that he requires the human rights and civil rights for the minority. He creates a gentle tone in order to engage the majority that they will never agree on any violence during the consideration of the majority to eradicate discrimination.…

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mlk Vs Malcolm X Essay

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During the fifties and sixties, two main figureheads campaigned for equal African American civil rights, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Although both aimed to end the divide of inequality and racism, they went about in leading this change in very different ways. Malcolm X was influenced by his hate of white supremacy and need racial separation, yet equality, through any means necessary. While Martin Luther King Jr was motivated by his want for racial equality and complete integration through peace. Both leaders used public speeches and their faith to influence the public however King focused on success through peaceful protest and civil disobedience, while Malcolm X believed in pushing where it hurt and forcing whites to accept blacks as…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is very debatable whether Malcolm X or Martin Luther King achieved more for Black Americans, as Malcolm X used peace to help out with the division yet Martin Luther King used violence. They both said to help end the division between African Americans and White Americans. They both succeeded in two completely different ways.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The period following the Reconstruction of the United States was a very difficult time for Blacks. After the North had fought for them to gain freedom from slavery, they were abandoned and were forced to fight for themselves. There was much ambivalence among blacks in regard to how they would go about achieving civil rights. During the end of the 19th century there were two black leaders who had completely different opinions on how blacks should accomplish these goals. Booker T Washington urged blacks to uplift themselves through vocational training and economical self-reliance. W.E.B Du Bois, on the other hand, was an advocate of complete racial equality. More recently, a similar dilemma occurred among blacks. Martin Luther King, Jr. Believed in acquiescence, while Malcolm X felt that blacks should attain equal rights 'by any means necessary', or, violence. During the Civil Rights movement, non-violence was the best way for blacks to attain equal rights because it was important that the white community respect them, which would have been impossible had they continued to be violent.…

    • 934 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both fought for the same goal, but had different ways of achieving this goal. They both fought against civil rights and were leaders in the civil rights movement. The way they were brought up is a good explanation for their differences; King was brought up in a wealthy family, while X was raised in the ghetto to a poor family. Both fought against unfair laws, Social Discrimination, and Racial segregation, but they both had different ways of going about this.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil rights

    • 1023 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In 1954 the Civil Rights Movement started, the following years after Malcolm X and Martin Luther King himself began there fight for equality. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X took part in many major events during the civil rights movement, fighting for civil rights on lunch counters, buses, and all public.…

    • 1023 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays