The 1950s and 1960s were a time of great social change. There was a rising call for equality among many factions of Americans. Immigrants, women, and African-Americans all began to stand up and demand more rights. Arguably the biggest movement for equality during the ‘50s and ‘60s was the African-American civil rights movement. The non-aggressive civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King was more effective than the aggressive civil rights movement led by Malcolm X because the members of the non-aggressive civil rights movement broke common stereotypes of African-Americans and provided a stark contrast between themselves and the violent white ruling class, while the aggressive civil rights movement created and reinforced negative stereotypes …show more content…
While King’s non-aggressive civil rights movement was extremely structured and led by organized protests, Malcolm X’s aggressive civil rights movement was less formally organized but many participants were influenced by his strong rhetoric. Malcolm X believed that his goals should be accomplished by any means possible, even if it meant that African-Americans needed to employ aggressive tactics in order to protect themselves. Malcolm X, who converted to the Nation of Islam while in prison during the late 1940s, worked with the nation’s leader Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X’s conversion was one of the main things that differentiated him from Martin Luther King; while King preached Christian messages, often involving peace and love, Malcolm X preached Islamic messages, often involving justice and respect. Malcolm X believed that African-Americans were never going to get what they wanted by working with white society; he believed that African-Americans had to work alone. Consequently, Malcolm X preached in favor of “separate but equal.” He wanted African-Americans not only to live by themselves, but to govern themselves as well. This was another area in which Malcolm X’s beliefs and King’s were in conflict. Much to Malcolm X’s dislike, King’s civil rights movement was largely financed by whites, which Malcolm X believed made King very dependent on white society. People who disliked this aspect of King’s movement and believed that his form of protesting was ineffective became followers of Malcolm
Malcolm X played a large role in the movements and activism of African-Americans. Similar to Dr. King his aim was to completely defeat racism. Although he had a similar goal to Dr. King his ways of approaching his goal was quite different. Malcolm X wanted to take a more aggressive approach compared to Dr. King, “Perhaps Malcolm X's greatest contribution to society was underscoring the value of a truly free populace by demonstrating the great lengths to which human beings will go to secure their freedom”(“Malcolm X Biography”). Malcolm X believed that people will need to show how much they wanted their freedom and will fight for it physically if they don't get it otherwise.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X held significantly different opinions about how to advance African-Americans in American society. Malcolm X believed in the use of force to accomplish goals, whereas King supported nonviolent means. The differences between the two leaders can be explained by their differing political views, upbringings, and beliefs. First of all, King believed the best strategy for achieving change was nonviolence.
Malcolm X was another major figure and leader during the civil rights movement for the Nation of Islam. Born Malcolm Little, he changed his name because he thought that his last name had been forced on his family by their slaveholder. Due to an incident with his home and father he joined a controversial group committed to securing the rights of African Americans, the Nation of Islam. Different from Martin Luther, Malcolm X was a passionate and inspirational speaker who fought for the the independence of African Americans but in a violent way. Malcolm started his own organization but began to get frustrated with the progress of the civil rights movement.
Malcolm X was a civil rights leader who advocated for black empowerment and the use of force in achieving equal rights. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience. Both men were influential in the civil rights movement, but Malcolm X was more effective in achieving black empowerment. Malcolm X believed that blacks should be self-reliant and independent from whites. He advocated for black businesses and black economic empowerment.
Malcolm X converted to being a Black Muslim in prison. When he was discharged, he immediately gained a status of an influential figure in the Nation of Islam, second to Elijah Muhammad who was a leader. And yet Malcolm X was not able to see himself as a free man. His anti-white beliefs were based upon the function of white men as a symbol of malevolence, and everything he did was to fulfill an obligation of Elijah Muhammad. However, he did not rise up against Elijah Muhammad up to the point when it became clear that he had no alternative left.
Malcolm X was a preacher of the religion Islam. In his teenage years, Malcolm was in prison. After prison, he changed his life and began preaching Islam. There was jealousy over how popular Malcolm X was becoming with followers of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm soon left the Nation of Islam and became an advocate for the overthrow of oppressive laws.
However, they had different approaches and beliefs about how to achieve their goals. From both Malcolm X's and Martin Luther King’s strategies, the tactics Malcolm X had been more successful and effective than Martin Luther King’s because Malcolm had a more realistic take on everything than having sugar-coated nonviolent protests and following the six rules MLK created. Martin Luther King believed in nonviolent civil tactics, inspired by Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence. He preached that love could conquer hate and violence and that justice could be achieved through peaceful means. One cite
During the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was a big topic and controversy with all of the United States. It was quite clear that African Americans did not get treated the same way that whites did. It had been ruled that it was constitutional to be “separate but equal”, but African Americans always had less than the whites did. For example, the schools that they had were run down, and had very little classrooms, books, and buses. Martin Luther King had a large role in the Civil Rights Movement, as did Malcolm X, and others.
leadership. The Civil Rights Acts and Voting Rights Act formed a legal basis to end the segregation and discrimination that has been happening in the United States. Malcolm X influenced disparate wings of the black movement. King influenced the non-violence act to the younger African-American generation to show them that violence just causes more of a problem. The radical faction of the "Black Power" movement accepted his positions on African identification, neocolonialism, black control of the political economy of black communities, and Afro-American self-defense.
Martin Luther King: The Civil Rights movement as an extension of Progressivism The 1950s were one of the most important periods of American social history. Television was invented and many other inventions were created, but the Civil Rights movement was what truly mattered most. In order to understand the movement there has to be an understanding of the society that was trying to be changed. Progressivism allowed the government and people acting on its behalf to address social problems, inequalities and political situations in the country.
He was religious and holy and he fought for people of color giving them a voice. Malcolm stated, “ We are not fighting for integration, we are fighting for recognition of human beings, (Sharp 53).” Also Malcolm X stressed the fact that color people should be able to defend themselves using any means necessary against racism in the time period. He believed that in order to create an equal balance of respect between two colors violence and politics would be the solution Perry claims, “He mobilized black America’s dormant rage and put it to work politically, (Perry 380).” Malcolm X uses the second amendment to justify his beliefs and to back up his reasoning for the ideals he states.
The tactics used civil rights movement of both the 1950’s and 1960’s were different helped them succeed in different ways. During the late 1950s the tactics that were used were political, while in the early in 1960s they used social and political tactics to get their goals achieved, but in the late 1960s the tactics that were used were primarily economic and social, In the 1950’s, the civil rights movement was very successful because activist showed the level of racism and segregation in the south. The tactics and resistance made in this time period helped achieve desegregation because and the resistance that the activists dealt with just made them become more aware in the media and hopefully spread nation wide.
The African American Civil Rights movement existed at large between the early fifties and the late sixties in a society that was constantly on the verge of social destruction. The black rights movement existed politically, socially, and economically everywhere in the United States. As time progressed the movement developed and saw many changes along with schisms separating activists and how they approached getting their rights. In the early fifties there was a large non-violent integration based movement spearheaded by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. However, as the time progressed, the movement started seeing a more aggressive leadership with figures such as Malcolm X, but eventually it turned into an extremist movement
MLK’s “I have a dream” speech promoted the idea of integration. He believed that the races were created equal and that blacks should be respected as American citizens. Malcolm X followed Muslim principles and believed that he would protest “by any means necessary.” He would do whatever needed in order to obtain freedom for African-Americans whether it be violence or nonviolent. Malcolm opposed integration and believed that blacks needed to fend for themselves in the fight against whites.
When he joined the Nation of Islam, he changed his family name from “Little” to “X” as it was “a custom among Nation of Islam followers who considered their family names to have originated with white slaveholders” (1). Malcolm benefited the organization by being a spokesman and expanding the movement (“Malcolm X.” History. History Channel, n.d 1). He “became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston” (“Malcolm X Biography” 1). “An articulate public speaker, a charismatic personality, and an indefatigable organizer, Malcolm X expressed the pent-up anger, frustration, and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 to 1965”