Compare and Contrast the Aims and MethoRAB of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
These great leaders came from vastly different backgrounRAB which is shown in their thinking on life, especially early on. Martin was a Christian from the rural south, whilst Malcolm had become a Muslim from the urban north. King called for love of your neigrabroadour, integration and nonviolence, which was part of his American Dream. Malcolm X called for self-love, separation, and "by any means necessary", which was part of his Black Nationalism. Throughout their lives their views were constantly changing, largely affected by each other, but also by the many events in their lives. Malcolm X forced King to become more radical and to look into the problems of the urban north. King made X become more politically active and work much more with the Civil Rights Movement. Although many have often said that they were "like oil and water", these two men, however different they may have seemed to be, had the same goal. They wanted to end exploitation, discrimination and racism. Also, for both, religion was primary in defining their lives and ideals. There are two distinct phases in their political lives. For King, the change in his outlook came when he looked at the social problems of the urban slums, and the extent of racism of his previous allies. This turning point came with the riots in Watts, Los Angeles. For Malcolm X, the major change came when he broke from the Nation of Islam and went on his Hajj to Mecca, when he realised the anti-racist nature of true Islam. It must be remerabered, however, that Martin's second phase came well after Malcolm's death. Their achievements will not be looked at, but throughout there will be a discussion on how and why their aims and methoRAB were formed.
Despite interpretations by King and others, justice not love was the main aim of the Montgomery Bus Boycott according to Stride Toward Freedom. According to James Cone, love as the main focus came at a later date. Though far apart in many ways at this stage, Martin and Malcolm both insisted that black people stand up for their rights. King emphasised that during Montgomery integration was not an initial aim despite his and others belief in it. This was because he knew they would achieve nothing in the deep south of the 1950's with that sort of talk. Privately Malcolm X applauded King for his courage to stand up against southern whites. However, he was not pleased with the praise and financial support of whites and of course King's goal of integration and his method of non-violence.
By the dawn of 1956 justice was now applied and shaped by the higher goal of love. Love did not displace justice, infact it made it even more significant. King advocated that love, expressed in nonviolent protest, was the only means of achieving justice. With his shift to love, nonviolence became more than just a practical way for an oppressed people to achieve justice. It was the beginning and everything that he stood for both politically and religiously. "No advice was offered more often and more passionately, and nothing separated him more from Malcolm X than his commitment to nonviolence" . It didn't mean do nothing, it meant passive direct action. Infact the Nation of Islam for all its talk was often criticised for its non-activity especially compared to Dr.King. Contrary to Malcolm who contended that it disarmed the oppressed, Martin claimed that it disarmed the oppressor. It was in his opinion connected to the American Dream. Despite the success of his method of using women and children in the marches, he soon realised it would not immediately transform the oppressor. However, its power is in what it does "to the hearts and souls of those committed to it" . He respected and liked Malcolm X, but regarding self-defence, "Malcolm has done himself and our own people a great disservice" .
Malcolm advocated self-defence, as he believed totally in self-respect and justice. After devoting his life to the Nation of Islam he vowed to tell black people about their brainwashed condition, and to tell white people about their crimes. To be nonviolent to the enemy and to want to integrate with these people was to carry on the many years of self-hating. Self-hate had to be replaced with a love of themselves in Malcolm's perspective, which Martin agreed with later on. They couldn't unite with or love another people when they weren't even united or loving of themselves. Malcolm believed self-love could be achieved with knowledge of their true history. A people who loved and had respect for their own race could not believe in nonviolence. "Any Negro who teaches Negroes to turn the other cheek in the face of attack is disarming that Negro of his God-given right, of his moral right, of his natural right, of his intelligent right to defend himself" . Both he and Martin believed that God is the executor of ultimate justice. However, Malcolm believed that politicians could not achieve justice in America. The Nation of Islam was just a religious organisation, and despite Malcolm's protestations, Elijah Muhammad would not allow any political engagement. This meant he could not pursue justice in a political field until the last year of his life. Nevertheless, justice moulded views of self-defence. Malcolm's justice was "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". Martin believed that this would just result in everyone being blind and toothless.
After being thrown into the political arena at a young age, Martin had to develop his aims and methoRAB very quickly. As he was not allowed to get involved in politics, Malcolm's aims and methoRAB were just concerned with the Nation of Islam and he was essentially a reactor to King. Martin was ultimately aiming for integration into the American society. Nonviolence was just one of the ways of trying to convince the moderate whites that they were just asking for their civil rights, nearly 100 years after being made citizens. He began talking about the American Dream and a "dream of our American democracy" which was the essence of his "beloved community". He began to talk about the Declaration of Independence "all men are created equal"; the Constitution and the Bible which he knew would appeal to whites. He could not understand how the U.S. could go to Asia and Africa preaching freedom, when there wasn't freedom in their own country. He challenged southern white moderates to speak out against the minority racists and the northerners to stop sitting on the fence. Martin wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to make whites realise the injustice of their position. King realised that the government couldn't force integration, but they could legislate for desegregation and stop the lynching of Negroes. "Unlike Malcolm who had given up on white America, Martin believed that it could be redeemed. King could be just as critical as Malcolm X but always left the door open for reconciliation and his methoRAB were shaped with this in mind" . He tried to bring about this by the setting up of committees, sit-ins, marches and even going to jail. In the early 60's he was reacting to events. However, after this he realised he was the leader and so began to take the lead in events.
King believed that for America to be redeemed it needed the help of the blacks to see the error of its ways. He felt deeply that " the Negro is God's instrument to save the soul of America" . This was very much linked with his view of Jesus Christ's execution redeeming humankind's sins. For blacks to accept their redemptive role in Martin's view they had to aim towarRAB five objectives. Firstly, they needed to find their self-respect after losing their "Somebodyness", an ongoing theme of Martin's. "King's emphasis on self-respect touched on Malcolm X's most distinctive contribution to the black freedom movement" . However, Malcolm's self-respect was linked with Africa. But for Martin, self-respect was connected with being an American citizen. Genuine self-respect means seeing yourself not as a Negro but as a human being. Secondly, Martin believed they needed to achieve high moral standarRAB in the Negro community. Malcolm agreed with high moral standarRAB, but not for the purpose of whites. "Why should victims of crime try to make them selves worthy of the respect of criminals?" . Next he wanted Negroes to do wholehearted work. King believed that Negroes should refuse to "use our oppression as an excuse for mediocrity and laziness" . He wanted them to be the best. However, Malcolm X pointed to the fact that King's examples were always whites or those who had succeeded in a white man's world. Malcolm X would sooner point to those who had resisted white domination. Penultimately, King saw the "urgent need for strong courageous and intelligent leadership from the Negro community" . Finally and most obviously, he wanted the Negroes to achieve this redemption through nonviolence, which has already been discussed.
During the first period most of Malcolm's aims and methoRAB were limited to the Nation of Islam, due to their political inactivity. He felt he had been saved by Elijah Muhammad so set about spreading the word of the Nation. This was his main aim which he wanted to achieve with a recruitment drive where he and others would go "fishing". He could achieve this during his speeches as he spoke in their language. It was often said that his voice, with its power and anger, was as important as the message, achieving a similar reaction to that of King's speeches. He would tell the blacks about their true history and fire the crowd up with talk of how the devil white man raped and murdered. "To get fifteen million of us here to make us slaves, on the way he murdered one hundred million" . Once he had them stirred up about slavery, he would turn the scene to themselves, their condition and what they could do about it and handed out leaflets. He would often use these shock tactics to get an audience's attention; however, this was more to do with his faith, of telling the truth, than a strategy. Although its effectiveness did not go unnoticed on him. He was also the master of debate; indeed Martin Luther King refused to meet him for this reason, much more so than his faith in self-defence. He could be just as critical to blacks who had accepted their position, on many occasions even more scathing. Due to his success he began travelling from coast to coast, organising temples and representing Elijah Muhammad whenever and wherever he requested. He spoke and wrote in many publications, even setting up the "Muhammad Speaks" newspaper so he could achieve his aim of furthering the Nation of Islam. He was very clever in his methoRAB such as targeting black Christians with quotes from the bible, but Muhammad largely controlled his whole life.
With his break from the Nation of Islam he moved much closer to Martin Luther King. He looked to solve racial problems by working with others instead of criticising them. As a Muslim he believed in Separation which was linked with his Unity theme which will be discussed later. However, he knew this was a long term aim, so in there short term there must be the achievement of "better food, clothing, housing, education and jobs right now" . He realised to do this he had to help blacks regardless of religion as this can divide. He also wanted to show the government that it had failed the blacks despite the Civil Rights Bill. He put forward an idea of black nationalism that was exclusively devoted to the political, social and economic development of the black community. Malcolm's death forced Martin to look at America's nightmare. King's dream was shattered after the Watts riot, and he realised that racism was much deeper than he realised. What he had been fighting for had not affected the urban north. This was when he began to fight for social and economic justice. When he looked at places like Chicago he realised it was no accident that the blacks were poor and living in slums. His anti-capitalist sentiments began to resurface, with a serious examination of socialism as an alternative to the American political economy, although he distanced himself from Marx. Similar to Malcolm , Martin wanted to show America that the Civil Rights Bill was not the end. His aim was to restructure the whole of America so that all of its people would have food and shelter for their bodies and dignity and self-respect for their spirits.
Despite their movement towarRAB each other Martin still believed totally in nonviolence whilst Malcolm's faith in self-defence was as strong as ever. Although Malcolm was starting to see the benefits of nonviolent demonstrations, he was urging blacks to join rifle clubs. He still highlighted that they should never be the aggressor and has to be within the law, despite other interpretations at the time. However, there was a definite closeness in many of their aims. Malcolm's belief in separation compares with Martin's turn towarRAB temporary segregation. King started to appreciate Malcolm's point of view once he looked at the urban north and saw the benefit of black separatism. He started to believe in black self-determination and tried to get an enforceable open housing law in Chicago and other cities. Martin wanted blacks to take control of where they lived, elect black mayors and change the city. This was a marked difference in his aim and it took a long time to change from his integration philosophy, but what he had seen in Chicago had changed him. So much so that he began to be called the "nonviolent Malcolm". However, he had to hide his separatist views due to his white backing. It wasn't an aim until he responded to the Black Power movement and the failure of most whites to support authentic integration. Martin believed segregation and separation were the same thing. His main goal was still integration but blacks needed segregation first.
Throughout his life Malcolm believed in black unity and separation, but these thoughts came to the fore when he became politically active. "Though Malcolm was more famous for his scathing critique of whites, his call for unity among blacks was actually the dominant theme for his ministry" . He tried hard to develop a unity message that would enable him to be involved in civil rights activities which previously had been closed to him. He wanted blacks to unite so they could begin to love and respect each other again. This could only be achieved by separation. "Malcolm wanted blacks to awaken to a mature intelligence and moral independence from whites" . Since Allah would get rid of this devil white race, the blacks should separate themselves. However, with his turn to true Islam, Malcolm still believed in separation. Blacks were in such a bad state, both materially and spiritually, that they needed to separate, so they could respect each other, and so others would respect them. For Malcolm separation was not temporary, unlike Martin, but rather an ideological commitment.
One area that Martin's aims compare favourably with Malcolm's later on in their lives is internationalism. As has already been discussed their views on the U.S. were very similar in this second phase. Their world outlook carried along these lines. When Malcolm realised that Islam cannot tolerate any form of racial discrimination, he had to think again about his Black Nationalist thinking. It deepened his international outlook, speaking more and more of human rights for all. He saw the struggle in Africa and America as one and the same. Malcolm and Martin wanted to meet each other to achieve human rights, most notably by aiming to get the UN to expose America's inhumane treatment of its black inhabitants. Previously Martin had always looked to Europe when talking about international affairs, but with Malcolm's influence he began to turn his focus to the rest of the world, especially Africa, Asia and Latin America. Like Malcolm, Martin believed that Negroes could not be free in America until the poor of the world were set free. Both saw the interrelatedness of life. "Martin turned toward economic issues calling for social justice for the urban, black underclass, but also for the poor in the third world because he was aware that Afro-American's weren't only at home in the U.S. but also in the world house" . He aimed at making America tackle poverty not only in its own country but also throughout the world. Malcolm X criticised the United States actions over Vietnam but died before it started for real. Despite almost certain condemnation from the government and much of his white support, Martin Luther King was also very critical over Vietnam. He was angered that Americans would deprive the poor to wage an unjust war. He was not frightened to criticise the government even announcing that America was "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today" . Martin threatened mass boycotting to end this poverty and racism using the dream of nonviolence, peace and love. Unfortunately Malcolm X due to the fact he was murdered so soon a time after moving into the Civil Rights Movement, he hadn't properly defined all his aims nor his methoRAB.
With his changing philosophy he began to see that King was actually achieving things. He began to agree with King on the fact that blacks should become more politically active by using the ballot. He also backed King in his call for blacks to join organisations that talked about lifting blacks up, which would help them change their lives instead of "waiting for the crurabs from the white man's table" . Malcolm found it hard to rub off his racist image, especially as he would not allow whites to join his Organisation of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). However this was because he felt whites would only join to clear their consciences and felt they should join organisations that tackled racism in their own communities. Due to this increasing agreement with King, he realised that it would be dangerous if he got too close to him. So he offered himself as an alternative so that Martin could achieve his aims. He even confessed to King's wife that he thought he could help her husband more by attacking him than by praising him. Malcolm X was believing more and more that Martin Luther King had the right answer for the Negro people and felt that people like himself were needed for the purpose of letting the white man know the Negro can and will fight if necessary. He began to threaten whites so that they would start to accept what Dr. King suggested. "Whites better be glad Martin Luther King is rallying the people because other forces are waiting to take over if he fails" . With their turn towarRAB each other, and other than their beliefs in nonviolence and self-defence, many have believed that they were not very far apart at their deaths.
To conclude, neither their differences nor their similarities stayed static. They were constantly changing and developing, strongly influenced by their awareness of each other, as they searched for the meaning of black freedom in America and the best method for achieving it. Their aims and methoRAB at the start of their lives starkly contrasted each other's. Martin was slowly evolving over a nuraber of years, tackling each problem he saw. However, Malcolm was blocked from political activity in his years in the Nation of Islam and quickly transformed his outlook in the last year of his life. That is why it makes it so hard to compare and contrast as they were changing throughout their lives. Infact Martin's major turn towarRAB Malcolm X was after his death. However, what can be seen is that from the beginning of their ministries they both sought the unqualified liberation of African-Americans from the bonRAB of segregation and discrimination to self-determination as a people, from a feeling of inferiority and nobodyness to an affirmation of themselves as human beings. Their methoRAB were vast and changing but they complimented each other. As Malcolm X declared in the "Ballot and the Bullet", "We've got the same objective. We've just got different ways of getting at it" . They both wanted freedom.
Bibliography
Books
James H. Cone, Martin & Malcolm & America; A Dream or a Nightmare, (New York, 1997).
Michael Eric Dyson, Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X, (Oxford 1995).
Martin Luther King Jr., Stride Toward Freedom, (San Francisco, 1958).
Cheryll Y. Greene ed., Malcolm X: Make It Plain, (1995).
Brian Ward and Tony Badger ed., The Making of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, (1996).
John White, Black Leadership in America: From Booker T. Washington to Jesse Jackson, (1995).
Theresa Perry, Teaching Malcolm X, (1996).
William Strickland, Malcolm X; Make It Plain, (1994).
Adam Fairclough, To Redeem the Soul of America; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Jr., (1987).
David J.Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, (1986).
Hanes Walton, The Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., (1971).
Harvard Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality; 1954-1992, (New York, 1993).
Stephen B. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound, (1982).
Vincent Harding, Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero, (New York, 1996).
Alex Haley ed., The Autobiography of Malcolm X, (1968).
Internet Sites
Garth Baker-Fletcher, Somebodyness and Self-Respect: Themes of Dignity in Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, http://www.uts.colurabia.edu/~usqr/baker.htm, (1993).
Simona Sara, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Great Human Rights Leaders of this Century, http://home.earthlink.net/~tenspeed/SimonaSara/mkmx.htm, (1997).
Alton B. Pollard, Martin and Malcolm and the African-American Struggle, http://www.jahin fosys.com/csrm/pllrd.html, (1998).
Elke Moritz, Two RoaRAB to Freedom: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Nonviolence or "Freedom - by any means necessary."?, http://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~moritz/2roaRAB.html, (1992).
These great leaders came from vastly different backgrounRAB which is shown in their thinking on life, especially early on. Martin was a Christian from the rural south, whilst Malcolm had become a Muslim from the urban north. King called for love of your neigrabroadour, integration and nonviolence, which was part of his American Dream. Malcolm X called for self-love, separation, and "by any means necessary", which was part of his Black Nationalism. Throughout their lives their views were constantly changing, largely affected by each other, but also by the many events in their lives. Malcolm X forced King to become more radical and to look into the problems of the urban north. King made X become more politically active and work much more with the Civil Rights Movement. Although many have often said that they were "like oil and water", these two men, however different they may have seemed to be, had the same goal. They wanted to end exploitation, discrimination and racism. Also, for both, religion was primary in defining their lives and ideals. There are two distinct phases in their political lives. For King, the change in his outlook came when he looked at the social problems of the urban slums, and the extent of racism of his previous allies. This turning point came with the riots in Watts, Los Angeles. For Malcolm X, the major change came when he broke from the Nation of Islam and went on his Hajj to Mecca, when he realised the anti-racist nature of true Islam. It must be remerabered, however, that Martin's second phase came well after Malcolm's death. Their achievements will not be looked at, but throughout there will be a discussion on how and why their aims and methoRAB were formed.
Despite interpretations by King and others, justice not love was the main aim of the Montgomery Bus Boycott according to Stride Toward Freedom. According to James Cone, love as the main focus came at a later date. Though far apart in many ways at this stage, Martin and Malcolm both insisted that black people stand up for their rights. King emphasised that during Montgomery integration was not an initial aim despite his and others belief in it. This was because he knew they would achieve nothing in the deep south of the 1950's with that sort of talk. Privately Malcolm X applauded King for his courage to stand up against southern whites. However, he was not pleased with the praise and financial support of whites and of course King's goal of integration and his method of non-violence.
By the dawn of 1956 justice was now applied and shaped by the higher goal of love. Love did not displace justice, infact it made it even more significant. King advocated that love, expressed in nonviolent protest, was the only means of achieving justice. With his shift to love, nonviolence became more than just a practical way for an oppressed people to achieve justice. It was the beginning and everything that he stood for both politically and religiously. "No advice was offered more often and more passionately, and nothing separated him more from Malcolm X than his commitment to nonviolence" . It didn't mean do nothing, it meant passive direct action. Infact the Nation of Islam for all its talk was often criticised for its non-activity especially compared to Dr.King. Contrary to Malcolm who contended that it disarmed the oppressed, Martin claimed that it disarmed the oppressor. It was in his opinion connected to the American Dream. Despite the success of his method of using women and children in the marches, he soon realised it would not immediately transform the oppressor. However, its power is in what it does "to the hearts and souls of those committed to it" . He respected and liked Malcolm X, but regarding self-defence, "Malcolm has done himself and our own people a great disservice" .
Malcolm advocated self-defence, as he believed totally in self-respect and justice. After devoting his life to the Nation of Islam he vowed to tell black people about their brainwashed condition, and to tell white people about their crimes. To be nonviolent to the enemy and to want to integrate with these people was to carry on the many years of self-hating. Self-hate had to be replaced with a love of themselves in Malcolm's perspective, which Martin agreed with later on. They couldn't unite with or love another people when they weren't even united or loving of themselves. Malcolm believed self-love could be achieved with knowledge of their true history. A people who loved and had respect for their own race could not believe in nonviolence. "Any Negro who teaches Negroes to turn the other cheek in the face of attack is disarming that Negro of his God-given right, of his moral right, of his natural right, of his intelligent right to defend himself" . Both he and Martin believed that God is the executor of ultimate justice. However, Malcolm believed that politicians could not achieve justice in America. The Nation of Islam was just a religious organisation, and despite Malcolm's protestations, Elijah Muhammad would not allow any political engagement. This meant he could not pursue justice in a political field until the last year of his life. Nevertheless, justice moulded views of self-defence. Malcolm's justice was "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". Martin believed that this would just result in everyone being blind and toothless.
After being thrown into the political arena at a young age, Martin had to develop his aims and methoRAB very quickly. As he was not allowed to get involved in politics, Malcolm's aims and methoRAB were just concerned with the Nation of Islam and he was essentially a reactor to King. Martin was ultimately aiming for integration into the American society. Nonviolence was just one of the ways of trying to convince the moderate whites that they were just asking for their civil rights, nearly 100 years after being made citizens. He began talking about the American Dream and a "dream of our American democracy" which was the essence of his "beloved community". He began to talk about the Declaration of Independence "all men are created equal"; the Constitution and the Bible which he knew would appeal to whites. He could not understand how the U.S. could go to Asia and Africa preaching freedom, when there wasn't freedom in their own country. He challenged southern white moderates to speak out against the minority racists and the northerners to stop sitting on the fence. Martin wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to make whites realise the injustice of their position. King realised that the government couldn't force integration, but they could legislate for desegregation and stop the lynching of Negroes. "Unlike Malcolm who had given up on white America, Martin believed that it could be redeemed. King could be just as critical as Malcolm X but always left the door open for reconciliation and his methoRAB were shaped with this in mind" . He tried to bring about this by the setting up of committees, sit-ins, marches and even going to jail. In the early 60's he was reacting to events. However, after this he realised he was the leader and so began to take the lead in events.
King believed that for America to be redeemed it needed the help of the blacks to see the error of its ways. He felt deeply that " the Negro is God's instrument to save the soul of America" . This was very much linked with his view of Jesus Christ's execution redeeming humankind's sins. For blacks to accept their redemptive role in Martin's view they had to aim towarRAB five objectives. Firstly, they needed to find their self-respect after losing their "Somebodyness", an ongoing theme of Martin's. "King's emphasis on self-respect touched on Malcolm X's most distinctive contribution to the black freedom movement" . However, Malcolm's self-respect was linked with Africa. But for Martin, self-respect was connected with being an American citizen. Genuine self-respect means seeing yourself not as a Negro but as a human being. Secondly, Martin believed they needed to achieve high moral standarRAB in the Negro community. Malcolm agreed with high moral standarRAB, but not for the purpose of whites. "Why should victims of crime try to make them selves worthy of the respect of criminals?" . Next he wanted Negroes to do wholehearted work. King believed that Negroes should refuse to "use our oppression as an excuse for mediocrity and laziness" . He wanted them to be the best. However, Malcolm X pointed to the fact that King's examples were always whites or those who had succeeded in a white man's world. Malcolm X would sooner point to those who had resisted white domination. Penultimately, King saw the "urgent need for strong courageous and intelligent leadership from the Negro community" . Finally and most obviously, he wanted the Negroes to achieve this redemption through nonviolence, which has already been discussed.
During the first period most of Malcolm's aims and methoRAB were limited to the Nation of Islam, due to their political inactivity. He felt he had been saved by Elijah Muhammad so set about spreading the word of the Nation. This was his main aim which he wanted to achieve with a recruitment drive where he and others would go "fishing". He could achieve this during his speeches as he spoke in their language. It was often said that his voice, with its power and anger, was as important as the message, achieving a similar reaction to that of King's speeches. He would tell the blacks about their true history and fire the crowd up with talk of how the devil white man raped and murdered. "To get fifteen million of us here to make us slaves, on the way he murdered one hundred million" . Once he had them stirred up about slavery, he would turn the scene to themselves, their condition and what they could do about it and handed out leaflets. He would often use these shock tactics to get an audience's attention; however, this was more to do with his faith, of telling the truth, than a strategy. Although its effectiveness did not go unnoticed on him. He was also the master of debate; indeed Martin Luther King refused to meet him for this reason, much more so than his faith in self-defence. He could be just as critical to blacks who had accepted their position, on many occasions even more scathing. Due to his success he began travelling from coast to coast, organising temples and representing Elijah Muhammad whenever and wherever he requested. He spoke and wrote in many publications, even setting up the "Muhammad Speaks" newspaper so he could achieve his aim of furthering the Nation of Islam. He was very clever in his methoRAB such as targeting black Christians with quotes from the bible, but Muhammad largely controlled his whole life.
With his break from the Nation of Islam he moved much closer to Martin Luther King. He looked to solve racial problems by working with others instead of criticising them. As a Muslim he believed in Separation which was linked with his Unity theme which will be discussed later. However, he knew this was a long term aim, so in there short term there must be the achievement of "better food, clothing, housing, education and jobs right now" . He realised to do this he had to help blacks regardless of religion as this can divide. He also wanted to show the government that it had failed the blacks despite the Civil Rights Bill. He put forward an idea of black nationalism that was exclusively devoted to the political, social and economic development of the black community. Malcolm's death forced Martin to look at America's nightmare. King's dream was shattered after the Watts riot, and he realised that racism was much deeper than he realised. What he had been fighting for had not affected the urban north. This was when he began to fight for social and economic justice. When he looked at places like Chicago he realised it was no accident that the blacks were poor and living in slums. His anti-capitalist sentiments began to resurface, with a serious examination of socialism as an alternative to the American political economy, although he distanced himself from Marx. Similar to Malcolm , Martin wanted to show America that the Civil Rights Bill was not the end. His aim was to restructure the whole of America so that all of its people would have food and shelter for their bodies and dignity and self-respect for their spirits.
Despite their movement towarRAB each other Martin still believed totally in nonviolence whilst Malcolm's faith in self-defence was as strong as ever. Although Malcolm was starting to see the benefits of nonviolent demonstrations, he was urging blacks to join rifle clubs. He still highlighted that they should never be the aggressor and has to be within the law, despite other interpretations at the time. However, there was a definite closeness in many of their aims. Malcolm's belief in separation compares with Martin's turn towarRAB temporary segregation. King started to appreciate Malcolm's point of view once he looked at the urban north and saw the benefit of black separatism. He started to believe in black self-determination and tried to get an enforceable open housing law in Chicago and other cities. Martin wanted blacks to take control of where they lived, elect black mayors and change the city. This was a marked difference in his aim and it took a long time to change from his integration philosophy, but what he had seen in Chicago had changed him. So much so that he began to be called the "nonviolent Malcolm". However, he had to hide his separatist views due to his white backing. It wasn't an aim until he responded to the Black Power movement and the failure of most whites to support authentic integration. Martin believed segregation and separation were the same thing. His main goal was still integration but blacks needed segregation first.
Throughout his life Malcolm believed in black unity and separation, but these thoughts came to the fore when he became politically active. "Though Malcolm was more famous for his scathing critique of whites, his call for unity among blacks was actually the dominant theme for his ministry" . He tried hard to develop a unity message that would enable him to be involved in civil rights activities which previously had been closed to him. He wanted blacks to unite so they could begin to love and respect each other again. This could only be achieved by separation. "Malcolm wanted blacks to awaken to a mature intelligence and moral independence from whites" . Since Allah would get rid of this devil white race, the blacks should separate themselves. However, with his turn to true Islam, Malcolm still believed in separation. Blacks were in such a bad state, both materially and spiritually, that they needed to separate, so they could respect each other, and so others would respect them. For Malcolm separation was not temporary, unlike Martin, but rather an ideological commitment.
One area that Martin's aims compare favourably with Malcolm's later on in their lives is internationalism. As has already been discussed their views on the U.S. were very similar in this second phase. Their world outlook carried along these lines. When Malcolm realised that Islam cannot tolerate any form of racial discrimination, he had to think again about his Black Nationalist thinking. It deepened his international outlook, speaking more and more of human rights for all. He saw the struggle in Africa and America as one and the same. Malcolm and Martin wanted to meet each other to achieve human rights, most notably by aiming to get the UN to expose America's inhumane treatment of its black inhabitants. Previously Martin had always looked to Europe when talking about international affairs, but with Malcolm's influence he began to turn his focus to the rest of the world, especially Africa, Asia and Latin America. Like Malcolm, Martin believed that Negroes could not be free in America until the poor of the world were set free. Both saw the interrelatedness of life. "Martin turned toward economic issues calling for social justice for the urban, black underclass, but also for the poor in the third world because he was aware that Afro-American's weren't only at home in the U.S. but also in the world house" . He aimed at making America tackle poverty not only in its own country but also throughout the world. Malcolm X criticised the United States actions over Vietnam but died before it started for real. Despite almost certain condemnation from the government and much of his white support, Martin Luther King was also very critical over Vietnam. He was angered that Americans would deprive the poor to wage an unjust war. He was not frightened to criticise the government even announcing that America was "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today" . Martin threatened mass boycotting to end this poverty and racism using the dream of nonviolence, peace and love. Unfortunately Malcolm X due to the fact he was murdered so soon a time after moving into the Civil Rights Movement, he hadn't properly defined all his aims nor his methoRAB.
With his changing philosophy he began to see that King was actually achieving things. He began to agree with King on the fact that blacks should become more politically active by using the ballot. He also backed King in his call for blacks to join organisations that talked about lifting blacks up, which would help them change their lives instead of "waiting for the crurabs from the white man's table" . Malcolm found it hard to rub off his racist image, especially as he would not allow whites to join his Organisation of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). However this was because he felt whites would only join to clear their consciences and felt they should join organisations that tackled racism in their own communities. Due to this increasing agreement with King, he realised that it would be dangerous if he got too close to him. So he offered himself as an alternative so that Martin could achieve his aims. He even confessed to King's wife that he thought he could help her husband more by attacking him than by praising him. Malcolm X was believing more and more that Martin Luther King had the right answer for the Negro people and felt that people like himself were needed for the purpose of letting the white man know the Negro can and will fight if necessary. He began to threaten whites so that they would start to accept what Dr. King suggested. "Whites better be glad Martin Luther King is rallying the people because other forces are waiting to take over if he fails" . With their turn towarRAB each other, and other than their beliefs in nonviolence and self-defence, many have believed that they were not very far apart at their deaths.
To conclude, neither their differences nor their similarities stayed static. They were constantly changing and developing, strongly influenced by their awareness of each other, as they searched for the meaning of black freedom in America and the best method for achieving it. Their aims and methoRAB at the start of their lives starkly contrasted each other's. Martin was slowly evolving over a nuraber of years, tackling each problem he saw. However, Malcolm was blocked from political activity in his years in the Nation of Islam and quickly transformed his outlook in the last year of his life. That is why it makes it so hard to compare and contrast as they were changing throughout their lives. Infact Martin's major turn towarRAB Malcolm X was after his death. However, what can be seen is that from the beginning of their ministries they both sought the unqualified liberation of African-Americans from the bonRAB of segregation and discrimination to self-determination as a people, from a feeling of inferiority and nobodyness to an affirmation of themselves as human beings. Their methoRAB were vast and changing but they complimented each other. As Malcolm X declared in the "Ballot and the Bullet", "We've got the same objective. We've just got different ways of getting at it" . They both wanted freedom.
Bibliography
Books
James H. Cone, Martin & Malcolm & America; A Dream or a Nightmare, (New York, 1997).
Michael Eric Dyson, Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X, (Oxford 1995).
Martin Luther King Jr., Stride Toward Freedom, (San Francisco, 1958).
Cheryll Y. Greene ed., Malcolm X: Make It Plain, (1995).
Brian Ward and Tony Badger ed., The Making of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, (1996).
John White, Black Leadership in America: From Booker T. Washington to Jesse Jackson, (1995).
Theresa Perry, Teaching Malcolm X, (1996).
William Strickland, Malcolm X; Make It Plain, (1994).
Adam Fairclough, To Redeem the Soul of America; the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Jr., (1987).
David J.Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, (1986).
Hanes Walton, The Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., (1971).
Harvard Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality; 1954-1992, (New York, 1993).
Stephen B. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound, (1982).
Vincent Harding, Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero, (New York, 1996).
Alex Haley ed., The Autobiography of Malcolm X, (1968).
Internet Sites
Garth Baker-Fletcher, Somebodyness and Self-Respect: Themes of Dignity in Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, http://www.uts.colurabia.edu/~usqr/baker.htm, (1993).
Simona Sara, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Great Human Rights Leaders of this Century, http://home.earthlink.net/~tenspeed/SimonaSara/mkmx.htm, (1997).
Alton B. Pollard, Martin and Malcolm and the African-American Struggle, http://www.jahin fosys.com/csrm/pllrd.html, (1998).
Elke Moritz, Two RoaRAB to Freedom: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Nonviolence or "Freedom - by any means necessary."?, http://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~moritz/2roaRAB.html, (1992).