Martin Luther King and Malcolm X essays

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X essays Martin Luther King and Malcolm X - Two Views, One Cause Many black authors and leaders of the sixties shared similar feelings towards the white run American society in which they lived. Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, and Stokely Carmichael all blamed the whites for the racism which existed. However, they agreed that it was up to the black society to end this problem. Using the black society, each of the authors had their own idea of how racism could be stopped. Unfortunately, for some, such as Malcolm X, this involved the use of violence, while others, such as King, favored the non-violent approach. This paper will focus, for the most part, on Malcolm X and King because they are both strong representations of two different approaches to a common goal. Perhaps their different approaches of violence and nonviolence stem from their original opinions of how capable the whites are Not all of the whites involved in the problem of racism supported it. Some were actually trying to help fight for the blacks. Unfortunately, it took Malcolm X a long time to figure that out. Malcolm's paper, "The Ballot or the Bullet," makes that clear. In his paper, he is constantly criticizing whites as a whole. He does not consider, even for a moment, that a white could actually support equality for all men. "Usually, it's the white man who grins at you the most, and pats you on the back, and is supposed to be your friend. He may be friendly, but he's not your friend" However, in a later work of his, "1965," one can see that Malcolm was learning to accept whites as possible allies. I tried in every speech I made to clarify my new position regarding white people - 'I don't speak against the sincere, well meaning, good white people. I have learned that there are some. I have learned that not all white people are racists' (367). ...