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It is not possible to discuss the American Civil Rights Movement without mentioning these two names - Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Both individuals played very important roles in the Civil Rights Movement. Both were murdered in the cause of their struggle by white extremists. And, after all this time, both men are recognized by Americans as heroes who fought for a better society and paid the supreme price for their efforts.

It is a fact that Malcolm X was radically different from Martin Luther King Jr. While Dr. King believed in non-violent peaceful change, Malcolm X was not averse to using violent means to achieve the goals of the struggle. Therefore, in comparing the legacy of both great men, we have to look at the methods used by both men and society's interpretation of each. We also have to take a close look at the personal background of each man so that we can understand where each individual was coming from.

Dr King was a pastor. He had a PHD and, compared to Malcolm X, his life was a breeze. It is therefore possible that his privileged background and his Christian upbringing made him consider violent methods an anathema. Again, Dr. King believed in the principles of Mohandas K. Gandhi. As a result, he felt that the only way to fight was the use of passive resistance.

On the other hand, Malcolm X was everything Dr. King was not. Malcolm X spent some time in jail, converted to Islam and saw nothing good in the white man. It is on record that Malcolm X once condemned his own white ancestry by declaring that the white blood in him was the blood of a rapist!

Given these differences, we simply cannot expect both men to operate he same way. While Martin Luther King Jr. declared; I have a dream.', Malcolm X had a more urgent slogan and this was the expression; ...By any means necessary'. Dr. King believed in the gradual process of integration. Malcolm X stated bluntly that Revolution is never based on begging anybody for an integrated cup of coffee'. While Dr. King preferred to hold meetings, go on strike and carry out boycotts, Malcolm X made it clear that A man carrying a gun can only be stopped by a man armed with a machine gun'.

Clearly, even though both men were working towards the same goal, Dr. King and Malcolm X did not live on the same street! Dr. King was an advocate of non-violent peaceful change. Malcolm X believed in meeting the white man's violence with a healthy dose of counter-violence. Both men were right and both men were murdered by the whites.

Therefore, in comparing the legacy of the men, we have to recognize the following points.

Dr. King seems to be the more popular of the two men. This is probably because he was a pastor and he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Again, his work has been continued by both his wife, Corretta Scott King (now of blessed memory) and his children. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change is alive and well and has continued the great work began by Dr King.

On the other hand, Malcolm X should also be recognized and appreciated as a man who understood the language of the times and spoke it clearly and bluntly. A simple example will suffice to drive this point home. If Nelson Mandela and co. had not formed 'Umkhomto we Sizwe' (the Spear of the Nation) and taken the battle to the Apartheid goons, South African Blacks might still be in shackles today.

In the final analysis, it has to be said that both Dr. King and Malcolm X were GREAT leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Each man had a different approach but both men left an enduring legacy that we should recognize and emulate today.

Learn more about this author, Emmanuel Osondu.
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