Comparing and Contrasting The Lives Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X
by
trinibaby20 (student)
Whitney O’Brien Lord
English 112-015
African Americans are privileged to have had leaders who fought for a difference in Black America. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X are two powerful men in particular who brought hope to Blacks in the United States. Both preached the same message about Blacks having power and strength in the midst of all the hatred that surrounded them. Even though they shared the same dream of equality for their people, the tactics they implied to make these dreams a reality were very diverse. The background, environment and philosophy of both men were largely responsible for the distinctly varying responses to American racism.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born into a middle classed family on January 15th 1929. His Birth paper stated his name as Michael Luther King but he later had it changed to Martin. He was one of three children born to Martin Luther King Sr. the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Alberta King, a former schoolteacher. Malcolm X on the other hand, was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 into a poor family. He was one of the eight children born to Louise Norton Little, a homemaker and Earl Little, an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. The fact that they were both brought up in the Baptist faith and both fathers being a leader in their churches can be seen as one of the first similarities between these two men.
Even though a similarity between the two can be found this early there were also differences. From an early age Martin Luther King Jr. excelled at school. He attended segregated local public grammar schools in Georgia and graduated from high school at the age of fifteen after being skipped both in the ninth and twelfth grades. He went on to attend Morehouse College, and graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor’s Degree in sociology. He also graduated with honors from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951. He married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953 and went on to Boston University where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955. He was exposed to influences that related Christian theology to the struggles of oppressed peoples. At Morehouse, Crozer, and Boston University, he studied the teachings of the nonviolent Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. He also read and heard the sermons of white Protestant ministers who preached against American racism. Malcolm on the other hand had it a lot more rough than King did. After being born in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm and his family moved to Lansing, Michigan. At the age of six years old, his father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Malcolm’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her eight children were taken by the welfare department. Malcolm was sent first to a foster home and then to a reform school. He was a smart, focused student. He graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger," Malcolm lost interest in school. He moved to Boston where he worked various jobs and eventually became involved in criminal activity. It all continued going downhill from there and in 1946, he was sentenced to prison for burglary. While in prison, he became interested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the black Muslims also called the Nation of Islam (NOI). He spent his time in jail educating himself and learning more about the black Muslims, who advocated racial separation. In 1952 he was released and he joined a Black Muslim temple in Detroit and became the most prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam by the early 1960's. It was then that he took the name of Malcolm X.
