by Michelle Campbell

Created on: December 30, 2009

Dr. King v. Malcolm X

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both played major roles in the struggle for racial justice. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy was “love thy enemy”, an idea his role model, Gandhi, imposed on him early on, and King truly believed through peace and nonviolence, equality could be achieved. Malcolm X on the other hand, was not so idealistic. He believed that change was possible only through force and violence. Both King and Malcolm X made things happen and paved the way for social justice, and still today people ask the question: Who created more change in the civil rights movement- Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X?

 As I mentioned before, King promoted peace and everyone living in harmony while Malcolm X favored first black separation, then black pride and equality, “by any means necessary”. Malcolm X saw the civil rights movement as an opportunity for revolution, and if violence and hating the enemy was the way to make this revolution happen, then violence it was. Malcolm X was clearly an extremist, but Martin Luther King Jr. was an idealist, and he did not agree with the teachings of Malcolm X.

Because of their differences, they accomplished very different things. In December of 1955, Dr. King organized the well-known Bus Boycott, which lasted for more than a year and led to government finally passing the law that banned segregation on buses. The determination Dr. King shows during this boycott reflects everything else he has accomplished after the Boycott. In 1957, he established and became president of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which preached “dignity and discipline” and became an unstoppable force during the civil rights movement. These major acts alone would be enough for some to say Dr. King was indeed the one who created the most change in the civil rights movement, but Dr. King did so much more. During the summer of 1963, The March on Washington was one of the biggest parts of the civil rights movement. Over 200,000 people participated and listened as Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his legendary, “I Have a Dream” speech. This march and this speech essentially tore down the barriers blocking African American freedom, and led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was a huge breakthrough for African Americans everywhere. Dr. King also made change through words. He touched the lives of thousands in “Letter from Birmingham Jail". Martin Luther

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