Political Philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X - a comparison.

Political Philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X – a comparison

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both fighting for the civil rights of the African American people. Both men were born as sons of black baptist preachers in the southern states of America in the 1920s, and were early confronted with racism, violence and segregation. Both men climbed up to be the most popular and disputed leaders of the Black Society in the 1950s and 60s. By different methods Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X achieved great progress in the American society.

Both men did never deviate from their beliefs or compromised them. They repre-sented the incarnation of integrity. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X gave their lives by trying to fight against the wrong and standing up against injustice. They battled for the rights of black people, to be acknowledged and treated like human beings and not like second-class citizens. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were human rights leaders. The major difference between these two men was, that King followed the way of non-violence, like his ideal Mahatma Ghandi did in India, to break the walls of oppression. Malcolm X had chosen the radical way. He wanted to gain "freedom - by any means necessary."

(Breitman, George, ed. Malcolm X Speaks, p. 135-136). Malcolm didn´t want to talk about the problems the afroamerican had with the white society. He wanted an immediate change for the black people of America with all means. Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Malcolm X’s “Ballots or Bullets” speech are prime examples of their differing rhetorical approaches to the racial injustice around them. Both pieces are calling for racial equality but their means of reaching it are quite different.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on Tuesday, January 15, 1929 to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in a middle-class family and was very much influenced by his father, a black baptist preacher. During his infancy King had to endure racism and segregation but never his own poverty. He studied at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and Boston University. At Crozer, he decided to study ministry. He was introduced to Mahatma Ghandi's non-violent strategy of social change during university times. King married and after finalizing his studies at Boston University he became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where he was popular because of his charismatic preaching ability. King established Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and actively joined National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and the Alabama Council on Human Relations. One successful campaign of the MIA was the Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956 (382 days) which lead to desegregation of buses. It was intended to last just a day after Rosa Parks refused to obey the city's policy mandating segregation on buses. The person Martin Luther King became known for his personal courage (his house was bombed and he was convicted on charges of conspiring to interfere with the bus companies operations) and his excellent skills to communicate with other people. In December 1956, the United States Supreme Court declared that Alabama's segregation laws were unconstitutional. Martin Luther King acted as chairman of the newly founded Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the continuing struggle for rights in 1957. He emphasised the importance of voting rights for the Blacks at Lincoln Memorial. King was invited to West Africa to take part in celebration of Ghana's independence. In 1959 he visited India in an effort to raise his understanding of Mahatma Ghandi's beliefs. SCLC began to teach students about the passive resistance in hope that they would use it. As a result students formed their own association, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). They organized enunciations all over the South, the first being in 1960 when several students tried to integrate the lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro. King identified himself with the crusade and spoke at their founding meeting in April 1960. SNCC was like the SCLC but tended to be radical. They supported King's ideals but wanted to separate themselves from the older leaders. The members of SNCC had no apprehension over being arrested. At one sit-in King was arrested with all the students but was denied bail with the help of President John F. Kennedy, who convinced those in power to release him. During his life, King was arrested thirty times for his participation in human rights activities. It was made known, that President Kennedy was on his side. After unsuccessful freedom rides in 1961, and protests in Albany, King and his staff organized a major rally campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, where more than 600 people were arrested in the first period of the sit-in along with King. While in jail, King wrote his acclaimed essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail" craving the white population of America to put a stop to segregation, by asking them to see how truly unjust the punishment of African-Americans was, and to understand that African-Americans were people who only wanted to gain their full civil rights after one hundred years. Headlines were made in 1963, when clashes beginning to get out of control. Kennedy reacting to the rallies and the attitude of Alabama Governor George Wallace submitted the Civil Rights Act to Congress. On August 2nd in 1963 more than 250.000 people participated in King´s March on Washington. There, on the steps of Lincoln Memorial, King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

“I have a dream that one day (...) sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of broderhood(...)“

(James M. Washington ed. I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World, p. 104 )

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“I have a dream that one day (...) sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of broderhood(...)“

(James M. Washington ed. I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World, p. 104 )

In these days Malcolm X´s message of self-defence and black nationalism was more well received than King's ideas with the Northern urban Black population. King was hardly criticized by the leader of the "Black Power", Stokely Carmichael. By using passive resistance in Chicago, King was physically assaulted. But he still remained dedicated to the use of non-violence. On April 4th in 1969 Martin Luther King, was assinated by James Earl Ray while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Mote in Memphis Tennessee. He went to help lead sanitation workers in objection to low wages and intolerable conditions. After his last speech,which were also his last words, it is known that he said "We've got some difficult days ahead, but it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop." His death was a great loss for all humans and humaness in the world. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, made everyone listen with his philosophy of nonviolence to achieve social change and believe of new hope. In death, he is seen as a martyr for his cause and a rebel.

The younger generation lost the patience of waiting for ‘slow change'. They were fighting for their rights and freedom, but seeing little in exchange for their efforts. They claimed for a more radical leader who would be able to understand them. The most influential and charismatic leader of the black underclass and youth was Malcolm X. Malcolm was born as Malcolm Little on May 19th, 1925 to Georgia Baptist minister James Earl Little and M. Louise Little. Like Martin Luther King, Malcolm was influenced by his father who followed the teachings of Marcus Garvey. His father James believed in black nationalism and pride. He was murdered by the Black Legion, a part of the Ku Klux Klan(KKK), when Malcolm was six years old. He struggled to exist as an African-American in an Anglo-Saxon society. When his mother Louise was sent to a mental asylum, her children became foster children. Malcolm was the only black student at Mason Junior High. The turning point in his life occurred when an English teacher told him to strive to be a carpenter rather than a lawyer, because of his skin colour. He left school, after finishing grade eight, to live with his sister Ella Mae Little Collins in Boston. After doing some odd jobs in Boston Malcolm went to Harlem, where he learned to survive in the ghetto as a hustler. On the street he was known as ‘Detroit Red' due to his redly hair colour . He became dependent on drugs, got into trouble with other hustlers and returned to Boston to organize a burglary ring. In 1946, he was caught and sentenced to ten years in jail even though it was his first offence. This large term was imposed because of his relationship with a white woman. In prison his inmates called him, ‘Satan' because of the fact that he was atheist. Malcolm became interested though in a black nationalist group called "The Nation of Islam“ (NoI) or "The Black Muslims". Their ideals wer closely to those of Marcus Garvey. Malcolm could identify himself with their thought of being free from oppression, and studied teachings of the Nation of Islam. He stopped eating pork or using drugs and let his hair take its natural shape. He devoted himself to the religion of NoI where he admired its rejection of white culture and their obeisance for african history, culture and heritage. In 1952, the leader of NoI, Elijah Muhammad met Malcolm after his release from prison.Through religion the working class has found an opportunity for education. The growing of industrial progress build up confidence for African Americans. Malcolm was so facinated and convinced by the power of the Nation of Islam that he became one of the major supporter´s and spokesman of Elijah Mohammed. Through NoI Malcolm had found a new sense of worth, giving speeches. People understood him and could identify with him, because he had been in the same situation as they did. Malcolm demanded that he wanted equality for all his black sisters and brothers. NoI declared that the only way to solve the race problem would be separation of all races. Malcolm preached black pride and reaffirmation. He found most of its audience and followers in the under middle class and in the ghettos. For Malcolm, the white race was an enemy to all other races and the only way to stop this disease was to form an own nation. He convinced his listeners to seek for higher education. Because education meant power to rule over your enemy, or weaken your opponent. The political philosophy of black nationalism meant control over the politics and the politicians of their community, without taking any orders from outside forces. NoI´s tactic was acting passively, they refused to bear arms. In 1954 Malcolm took the surname ‘X‘ replacing his slavename ‘Little‘ and became minister for NoI. He was an eloquent, charismatic preacher and by quoting the holy Bible he also drew faithful Christians into the Nation of Islam. His opponents feared him, because his speeches represented honesty, candor and sincerity. Soon Malcolm recognized the differences between himself and Elijah Mahammad. He wanted the Nation of Islam to be a more active group. Malcolm was shocked when he found out, that the honorable Elijah Mahammad, the man he totally trusted, repeatedly committed fornication. Malcolm was getting to powerful, to be under control of Mohammad so he was suspended from the organisation of NoI. After his break with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm soon announced the establishment of his own religious association: ‘the Muslim Mosque‘. In April of 1964, he took on the name "El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz" and set forth for a pilgrimage to Mecca. There he found real brotherhood and humanity. For the first time in his life Malcolm felt treated as a human being. He recognized also that in the Muslim world all races are equal. At his return to the United States, he caused confusion between his followers, because his views had changed totally. His supreme belief was not anymore seperation of the races and building a new society. He know fought for world brotherhood and human justice. Malcolm established the Organization of African-American Unity. He encouraged many African-Americans to vote and take part in organisations that made them more active in their community. The Media hadn´t recognized the change of Malcolm, they still blamed him for the burst of violence during the summer of 1964, sticking to the Ideals of the of the old, radical and incalculable, Malcolm X. During a speech in NY City on Dec.12 in 1964, he made his new Ideals clear, ‘I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment.' Malcolm attacked the United States government by speaking against their military activities in Vietnam and the Congo. He also scoffed at Martin Luther King, which made him become more radical to excite new followers and students on his side. Malcolm X had always the same belief as his father, that he had to die a violent death. On February 21 in 1965, Malcolm X was shot down by three men connected with the Nation of Islam. This happened right before he was to accuse the United States at the United Nations on the charges of denial of human rights and genocide against African-Americans.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X fought the same fight by using different methods. The life of both men was dedicated to the fight for black equal rights and liberty, and the civilrights movement of the 1950s and 60's, which would be again awaken black self-confident. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X stand for opposite poles. The name King is synonymous with terms such as ‘non-violence‘ and ‘integration‘ just as inseparably connected as those of Malcolm X with ‘Black Power‘ ‘freedom - by any means necessary'. The methods and objectives of both couterparts were never undisputed . But both men wanted to end racism and discrimination.

Dr. King grew up in a middle-class family, went to university and was well educated. He encouraged nonviolence and supported passive resistance. Malcolm was comming from the ghetto demanding justice for African-Americans. For both men religion was the center of their lives. Their turning points shaped their futures, Dr. King´s being the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Malcolm X´s being the finding of the Nation of Islam(NoI). Actually, they met once at the United State's Senate debate on the Civil Rights Bill on March 26, 1964. Towards the end, they moved closer. Both men criticized each other, but also highly respected one another. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X fought againt second-class citizenship, inhumanity and preached to vote and joining organizations. They were willing in ending poverty and discrimination. King and Malcolm established international links and organisations all over the world. Malcolm's famous slogan "by any means necessary" represented achieving his dream of freedom at any cost even death. Both were fighting with enthusiasm and a new hope for a better society and world. King dreamed of a society of peace, justice, freedom and equality. They became Ideals for African-American youth and achieved much with their efforts. Today, they are admired as martyrs of equality, who might have been able to do more if they hadn't been killed so early. They both represented equally good human rights leaders. One method did not work better than the other. Their two ways worked for the people who followed them. They introduced self-pride representatives of the African-American population. Dr. King and Malcolm X died trying to improve the conditions of living in their country in accordance with the American constitution.