by Indigo Blu

Created on: March 19, 2009

These two great leaders had different methods and agendas, so to compare them seems rather futile to me. However, if I were to choose, it would certainly be the great El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz, aka Malcolm X.

Malcolm X has always been one of my greatest heroes. I admire him because he was a pimp, a drug dealer, a drug user, a gambler...he was all those things. Yet, he took it upon himself to learn to read, to learn to articulate and hone his speech, to learn proper mannerisms to stand as a man, to learn the politics and ways of the world. It was not given to him. He earned it and learned it on his own!

When he joined the Nation of Islam, yes. He was extremely militant, a separatist, border lining hatred for his Caucasian counterparts. However, he was man enough to come back home after his Hajj (Holy Pilgrimage) to Mecca and state that he was wrong to generalize all Caucasian people. He was man enough to not only realize that Islam is a belief, not a race. He was man enough to let the whole world know of his latest discovery, and even invited white people to assist in the black movement.

Malcolm X believed that before we go to someone else's house, we must clean up our own. In other words, Malcolm X believed that in order for us to excel in this "integrated" society, we must get ourselves together first. We must build ourselves up, so we are strong enough and resilient enough to come together with other races for the common good. He was not a racist (far from it!), nor is anyone that believes in his teachings. He merely believed that if the United States is a melting pot for various nationalities as it claims to be, then we must be strong and proud and, most importantly, knowledgeable of our own history and heritage before we can learn about others. He believed in Black Pride. That doesn't make the man a racist. It makes him a black nationalist.

A black nationalist is someone who is devoted to and proud of the black community. That doesn't mean he hated all of the other communities (although he may have in the beginning, which, as I stated earlier, he publicly denounced). He just loved his own. Who doesn't? Who doesn't love and embrace and show pride in their own heritage and community?

In contrast to Dr. King, who was for immediate integration amongst his Caucasian counterparts, Malcolm X did not believe in non-violence. Not that he was a violent person, but if someone hit him, he would not say that he still loved the person and sit there and take it. If someone senselessly inflicted pain and misery on you because you are trying to accomplish something for the common good, would you really still love that person? I know I would not, and I know I would try to get them back. "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord", but I am going to help the Lord out a little bit with that vengeance.

In conclusion, both leaders were the greatest of our time, and frankly, I don't like comparing the two. Why can't they both equally be awesome civil rights leaders in their own separate way? After all, considering the civil rights leaders we have today, all we have are these two to look up to.

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