Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X: Differences in Perspective

During the civil rights era countless individuals influenced a society infused with white supremacy and racism, but most leaders took different approaches to reach the ultimate goal of equality. Although many African Americans wanted to fight for better status against the government, many people were frightened. To effectively change the mindset of people who held privilege from the start without repercussion seemed impossible. It was almost a hundred years since slavery, but blacks were still threatened by whites. Police used new tactics to arrest African American on minimal offenses and Jim Crow Laws were still relevant. Although black people were not slaves of a plantation; they were still slaves of America’s inequality. Trying to receive civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s was a revolution for equality. African American’s had two leaders that were not afraid to stand up for black people. Malcolm X and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King stood for desegregation, independency, and equality. Although both of them had different approaches, both were equally influential. Upbringings, social environments, and life events affected Malcolm X’s and Martin Luther King’s perspective on the extent to how violence should be incorporated into their ideologies.

In the Ethical Demands for Integration, Martin Luther King stated that “the impact of the nonviolent discipline has done a great deal toward creating in the mind of the Negro a new image of himself.” Because African Americans have a history in slavery, blacks are accustomed to punishment for working too slowing or ruining product. Besides his background, Martin Luther King believes that non-violence is the best way to approach to succeed in revolt because it exposes black to a new wave of being a human. African Americans have never had a time to use their knowledge, words, and actions to fundamentally change their government and Martin Luther King believed that it was the time to use it. On the other hand, Malcolm X had a more violent method. Malcolm X believed that it was silence that suppressed slaves in the past and the only way to change it was to respond violently. Violence allowed for African American to have more than a “voice”. It put their words into actions, which he believed to be more influential than peaceful aggression.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 to Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He had two siblings and he grew up comfortably in a house in Atlanta, Georgia. His family had a middle class income and although he lived in the urban city, he received the best possible education. Until college, his family remained together and they didn’t worry about much financially. He always had the company of his siblings for comfort, support, and enjoyment. Along with his sibling, Martin Luther King’s “second home” was the church. His father and his grandfather were pastors and their role led Martin to want to follow in their footsteps. On the contrary, Malcolm did not have such a cheerful childhood, he states: “People are always speculating- why am I as I am? To understand that of any person, his whole life, from birth, must be reviewed. All pf our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that has happened to us is an ingredient”. Malcolm Little was born on May 19th 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise and Earl Little, with the name Malcolm Little. He had ten siblings and his family was well off. His father was financially self- sufficient, a Baptist preacher, and an organizer for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. Because his family was constantly under scrutiny, Malcolm lived with constant fear through his childhood. His family was frequently being harassed by the Klu Klux Klan because of his father’s involvement with the UNIA. At the age of four, Malcolm’s house was burned down and when he was six years old, his father was murdered. Martin Luther King developed a more peaceful approach because of his positive childhood, and Malcolm Little was more violent because that is what he is used to.

Martin Luther King spent his extra time advancing himself in his religion. He went to bible studies, attended Sunday school, and stayed active in his church. Because he came from a lineage of clergy, he was inspired to do the same and be his best with his education. Martin Luther King began his academic career at Morehouse College in 1944 and he received his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1948. To continue his pastoral journey, he attended Crozier Seminary and graduated in 1951. He then attended Boston University to receive his doctorate in philosophy. Because Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King received a higher education, he had a more developed understanding as to why peace was the best way to attack white supremacy. His studies in religion, philosophy, and sociology surrounded him with a love for humanity. This appreciation conveyed how violence would only continue a constant downturn of events. Malcolm Little received no college education, he actually dropped out of school after eighth grade. After his father’s death, he was raised by his widowed mother during the Great Depression. When Malcolm’s father was alive, he was the sole income provider and his death brought great difficulty on his mother to provide for eleven children. Although Malcolm’s mother was once a proud wife and care-giver, she was admitted into Michigan’s mental hospital in 1939 after a mental breakdown. His brothers and sisters were forced to split up and he ended up in a white foster home and attended mainly predominately schools until the eighth grade. He then moved to Boston with is sister and jumped into crime by being a hustler, selling drugs, excessive alcohol, and gambling. Malcolm experienced an immense amount of sadness and change in his life. These emotions transferred into anger and violence which pushed him to believe that the only way to get revenge on the system that messed him up was to use the same violent tactics they used to kill his father, drive his mother to insanity, and eventually split up his entire family.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both had events in their life that changed their perspectives on dealing with racism and inequality in America. Martin Luther King married Coretta Scott King on June 18, 1953. Together, they had four children named Martin Luther King III, Dexter, Bernice, and Yolanda. At twenty six years old, Martin Luther King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1954 located in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1957, Martin Luther King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) around the same time as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This resistance to ride the bus lasted 381 calendar days and ended on December 21, 1956 with the desegregation of the bus system. Martin Luther King came from a loving background, but he still fought against adversity. Because he had a strong relationship with God, he knew he needed to follow God’s guidance and stay peaceful in over to overcome these man-made controversies. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee on the balcony of Lorraine Hotel. Malcolm Little experienced a life that took many turns. After his childhood in crime, he ended up getting arrested in 1946 and put in jail for burglary. During his six year stay, he converted to Islam. Upon his release in 1952, he decided to follow the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) custom and change his last name to “X” in order to reverence his ancestors whose names were lost due to slavery. Soon after his release, Malcolm X became a minister of the Nation of Islam and gave speeches about black separatism and violent combat. In April of 1964, Malcolm X decided to go on a pilgrimage, he completed the Hajj. When he returned he refused the Nation of Islam and it then led him to convert and embrace Sunni Islam. He realized his wrong doing of prejudice toward white people and he disavowed his prior beliefs. Malcolm X still pushed for black supremacy and segregation of blacks and whites. Three months after leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm X’s Afro-American’s Right to Self-Defense, he states that “the history of unpunished violence against our people clearly indicates that we must be prepared to defend ourselves or we will continue to be a defenseless people at the mercy of a ruthless and violent racist mob”. Although Malcolm X had a tough childhood, he made a huge impact on the black community and encouraged their confidence to stand up against white supremacy. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21st, 1965 by three active members of the Nation of Islam.

Both leaders had a huge impact on African Americans in society. Without a voice to stand up against adversity, the progress that has occurred in America for black people might not have occurred. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came from a structured home. He had many outlets to express his emotions through his siblings and church. He attended three different colleges and received multiple degrees. His peaceful approach was developed through a life filled with family love, good finances, and a strong solid belief in God. Malcolm X had a hard life and it forced him to develop “tough skin”. He learned that anything he wanted in life, he would have to earn it. Starting from his childhood, all of his comforts were take stripped from him. His harsh beginnings were the source of his violence approach. Both leaders had the same goal, even though their backgrounds were different. Regardless of their past, Malcolm X and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted African Americans to have the rights of a true citizen and live freely in a country that their hands created.