Another man King looked up to was an American theologian and writer, Henry David Thoreau who believed in passive resistance or civil disobedience, which he believed was the way to gain respect and rights. In his book entitled “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau understood that if a person believes in something that is restricted legally, they should follow their hearts, break that law that is restricting them and they shouldn’t give in. Thoreau believed that “under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison”, through his personal experience of spending a night in a prison cell, Thoreau can confirm his belief that prisoners are just men. He is of the same mind as King; they both think that if a man is willing to take the consequences, for example a night in prison, he should stand up for his beliefs, against the majority and against the law.
Martin Luther King said that if one peacefully cooperated with an evil and unjust system, such cooperation would make the oppressed as evil as the oppressor. King recognised the fact that non-violence would take time as it would take time for the people of America to change their views on prejudice and for them to alter their feelings against the black people. “The non-violent approach does not immediately change the hearts of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them a new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally, it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality.” King’s Christian beliefs had taught him that violence and hatred could only be conquered by love and forgiveness. This idea of fighting peacefully against evil was it the coward's way? No, said King. It took more courage not to hit back when struck. The Christian view on violence is very varied, but most Christians believe that war is rarely justified so, this includes violence.
King’s belief that this change from discrimination would take time was contrary to what Malcolm X wanted. X wanted the change to happen now and he didn’t think that King’s peaceful protests would work and that the only way through to the white people to ensure they would change was to be through violence. Also, King’s belief of non-violence and loving your enemy was the absolute opposite to the other mighty leader who was assassinated, Malcolm X. X along with his pressure group, the Black Power Movement believed that blacks and whites should be segregated and that this could only be achieved by force as white people refused to listen, he also believed that the white man was the devil and that they were trying to indoctrinate all non-whites into slavery. He believed that after “…400 years of masterful brainwashing by the slave master, we picture ‘our God’ with the same blond hair, pale skin and cold blue eyes of our murderous slave master. His Christian religion teaches us that black is a curse, thus we accept the slave master’s religion and find ourselves loving and respecting everything and everyone except black and can picture God as being anything else except black.” Before his pressure group came about, Malcolm X belonged to the Nation of Islam, who also believed in the segregation of blacks and whites, they even, wanted to establish a separate Afro-American homeland in the United States. The Nation of Islam also known as the Black Muslim Movement is a spiritual and political black separatist movement. The Nation of Islam has a somewhat shaky connection to conventional Islam, and many Muslims do not consider it to be truly Islamic. One of the NOI’s many beliefs is its anti-white prejudice. They refer to blacks as God's chosen people and Caucasians as white devils. They call for a separate homeland for American blacks, for racially segregated education and for a ban on interracial marriage. The NOI’s beliefs are a form of Black Nationalism, this theory maintains that black people should unite, gain power, and liberate themselves.
This is contradictory to King as he wanted the blacks and whites to live peacefully together, “When I speak of integration I don’t mean a romantic mixing of colours, I mean a real sharing of power and responsibility…”, King believed that this change from discrimination would take time whereas Malcolm X wanted it now and didn’t think that King’s peaceful protests would work and that the only way through to the white people to ensure they would change was to be through violence.
Another belief that King had was to ‘turn the other cheek’ King began to think that black African-Americans could use Gandhi's way to win their freedom. Wasn't Gandhi's way also the way of Jesus Christ? Hadn't Christ told his people to "turn the other cheek" if someone hit them? “Offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well". King preached this message to his people and told them that violence was never to come from them no matter what their tormenter did. This is also confirmed by what was previously stated, about what King and his family had gone through when they were threatened, their house was bombed and when King was stabbed.
Malcolm X believed that freedom needed to be grabbed with both hands and the possibility of using violence should not cause any interruption with this need. “”
James Cone, an influential leader in Black Theology, showed in his book Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or A Nightmare, that King’s ideas were also formed by the emphasis by the Black Church and their comparison to the Hebrews in the Old Testament and their history as slaves in Egypt under their Egyptian rulers. Their belief that God would “deliver them and lead them to a Promised Land gave King the inspiration to preach of an American dream for black people”. Cone, in this book, then continues to discuss the reasons that shaped X’s theories and ideas. He comes to the conclusion that the Muslim beliefs as taught by the Nation of Islam’s leader, Elijah Muhammad that revolved around the ideas that African-Americans were the desired people of God and that white people were devils that would ultimately be gotten rid of. Cone explains that these were ideas that Malcolm could believe in because of his past experiences with white people after the suspected murder of his father by a white supremacist group. Cone concludes that the different social and economic backgrounds are what led these two men to practice their respective religions and therefore influence their theories that they would later develop.
The differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X seem to be obvious, one man believes that violence is the key, the other does not. One man believes integration is the solution to racism, the other believed that the African-American community should have their own homeland within America. These differences and all those put to you before show the two towering icons of contemporary African-American culture and show you the men that had a great influence on black Americans. Between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, I think, that King is the man who went about getting his message across to the United States, and eventually the world the best way. King is still being talked about almost forty years after his death and he is thought of as the calm, peaceful and a decent human being. I believe his message of equality was the better one, compared to Malcolm X’s view of segregation, trying to improve the situation for black people by trying to raise them higher than whites, was wrong as it would end up probably causing the black people more harm. Whether we like it or not, during this period, the white man had more power and when X tried to take this power and give it to the black people by using violence, only really got him the name of being malicious and dangerous. It must not be forgotten however, that at the end of his campaign, prior to his assassination, X began to believe in more peaceful ways of combating the hatred his fellow black associates endured. However, despite their major differences both men had similar elements within their campaign. Both X and King spread their message through powerful, hard-hitting speeches, they both promoted self-knowledge and respect for one’s history and culture as the basis for unity. Even both men believed that if blacks were to attain freedom they first needed to achieve self-respect. X and King are both remembered as leaders who fought for a difference in black America. Both tried to bring hope to blacks in the United States. They also tried to inspire within blacks, power and strength so they could rise above all the hatred that surrounded them, even though they had very different ways of endorsing their message, they both had the same goal in mind.
Andre Brink, “Writing in a State of Siege”, Summit Books 1983
Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” 1846
Martin Luther King, Jr “Stride towards Freedom” 1958
Malcolm X, “God’s Angry Men,” Los Angeles Herald Dispatch 1 August 1957
Martin Luther King, Jr “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community” 1967
Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
James H Cone, “Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or A Nightmare” 1991