Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and the Civil Right Struggle of the Essay

Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and the Civil Right Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Martin Luther King Junior was brought up in a Christian background while Malcolm X was a Muslim this shaped how they addressed challenges that they faced in their struggles. For example, while Martin Luther always advocated for nonviolent solutions to the struggles that faced them to an extent that even when he was physically abused he opted not to revenge, Malcolm X believed in Muslim teachings and his famous phrase ‘by all means possible’ which advocated for physical violence towards the oppressors. Malcolm X believed that violence was the only way that the movement would win it cause and therefore advocated for physical battles whether the opponents were violent or not violent. A good example of this difference between the two individuals can be seen during the famous March on Washington on August 26, 1983, where more than 20, 000 people attended; in the march, he called for people from all races to unite and end violence and hatred. Malcolm X was very critical of this march and he argued that Martin Luther was wrong on calling for uniting of all races since that would destroy both the blacks and the whites; instead, Malcolm argued that blacks should be more concerned with helping each other instead. Both mean although using different approaches and coming from different social and economic classes had some similarities; some of them are explained in this paragraph. One of the similarities between the two individuals is that it is they both fought for the rights of the oppressed people in the world, for instance, they were both against the involvement of United States in the war in Vietnam in a bid to help French forces capture the country for colonization. Another similarity is that both individuals were assassinated at the same age, although Malcolm X was older than Martin Luther was, he was assassinated by the members of the nation of Islam when he was giving a speech; he was 39 years old.