How significant was Malcolm X in the rise of Black Power?

Malcolm X was quite significant in the rise of Black Power as he created the foundations for the ideas of Black Power. With the new ideas that he had, he provided an alternative to people like Martin Luther King’s ideas which people felt were too slow. By doing this he gained support and popularity. This meant his ideas were noticed and heard. As a result of this, Black Power emerged.

Malcolm X was significant in the rise of Black Power in many ways. Amongst other things, he was one of the first people to encourage violence against violence and offer an alternative to Martin Luther King's message of non-violence and pacifism. He also aimed to get power for black people. “Malcolm X became the voice of many angry black people who felt non-violent protest had failed” (1). This shows how necessary Malcolm X was because people felt that the non-violent approach had failed and these people needed someone to lead them with their new approach. Malcolm X was also a very powerful speaker and a courageous advocate. “Malcolm was a powerful speaker. Wherever he went, African Americans gathered around him” (2). This shows that by being a powerful speaker and a courageous advocate he got the attention of people. By getting people’s attention, he could make his ideas heard and promote power for black people and could create strong black identity. With his powerful speeches that he gave he also influenced many black Americans to do something about the way they were being treated and to fight the racism proactively. Malcolm X promoted power for black people and fighting against the oppression of black people to help create a strong black identity which is what Black Power was all about, which made him a significant person in the rise of Black Power.

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Although he did many things that made him significant in the rise of Black Power, he also had a few weaknesses which made him less significant than others. His main weakness was that he rejected Christianity. “Malcolm X said that Islam was the true religion of black mankind and that Christianity was the white man's religion"(3). Many historians say that this limited his appeal. One historian who said this is Professor Adam Fairclough. His exact words were “Malcolm X's rejection of Christianity limited his appeal” (4). By doing this it meant that a lot of black Christians didn’t follow him and disagreed with what he said. As the majority of black Americans were Christian it meant his message wasn’t accepted by a lot of people. As other people who spoke out for Black Power didn’t focus on religions, and therefore limit their appeals, it meant that they had more followers, so in this aspect Malcolm X isn’t as significant as others in the rise of Black Power.

Although Malcolm X created the foundations for Black Power, he died before it became prominent, and after he died, people like Stokely Carmichael spoke about Black Power. Although Stokely Carmichael did similar things to Malcolm X, like the powerful speeches, Carmichael was more significant because he made all his speeches when Black Power was prominent. He was also the person who popularized the phrase ‘Black Power’ and brought it into the public’s eyes. “Carmichael's speech brought it into the spotlight and it became a rallying cry for young blacks across the country” (5). As Stokely Carmichael made all his speeches when black power was prominent it had more of an effect on people. Although Malcolm X was quite significant in the rise of Black Power, he wasn’t as significant as Stokely Carmichael because he was the one who actually brought it into the spotlight.

In conclusion Malcolm X was quite significant in the rise of Black Power as he created the foundations for the ideas of Black Power.