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Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King

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Introduction

Both Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X are the most revered and celebrated political activist over the world even half a century later. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X are respected for their roles in racial equality and freedom for the African American, and as spokesmen and leaders in the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King and Malcolm X civil right approach was passive resistance and non-violent while the other was violent rejecting white supremacy and revolted against Christian’s value. Early in the 1960s the media stirred up a calculated conflict which prompted a civil right debate on Dr. King versus Malcolm X. This assignment takes on this trend head-on by attempting to review King and Malcolm X distinct style of rhetoric, religious and political approaches to obtaining equality for African American.

Malcolm X and Dr. King Background

Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, a Baptist by birth later converted to Islam and renamed el-Hajj Malik el-Shabbaz also commonly known as Malcolm X. Malcolm X father was a minister of the Baptist church, ardent fan of Pan-African activist Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) leader. His mother was a Seventh Day Adventist and the secretary of UNIA. Malcolm X was exposed to violence from a very tender age as his family was constantly attacked and forced to relocate by white racists groups, Ku Klux Klan and Black Legion. Malcolm X activism was influenced by his father nationalist ideas from Marcus Garvey’s UNIA. Malcolm X dropped out of high school and was engaged in juvenile activities and later sentenced to eight years in prison for larceny and breaking and entering. While serving his jail term Malcolm converted to Nation of Islam and took the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabbaz. The Nation of Islam was a Black Muslim sect which embraced Black Nationalism and sourced to secure equality, freedom and justice for the marginalized African American (Bloom, 1987). Later he had a fallout with the Nation of Islam and joined Mainstream Sunni Muslim (currently Mujahid Halim). Malcolm X would start what Dr. King once called destructive demagoguery and promoted violent revolutions and was later assassinated on February 21, 1965 by three Nation of Islam members.

Born Michael Luther King, Jr. on January 15, 1929, later changed Michael to Martin. Both Dr. King parents were Ebenezer Baptist Church members and his father was reverend at the church which influenced his desires to become a Baptist minister. Dr. King was raised in a middle-class family during the segregated South and was exposed to constant racial humiliation. Although growing up in a congenial home Dr. King graduated aged fifteen in a segregated public school (Booker T. Washington High School) down in Georgia. Dr. King public speaking capacity commenced while in high school and he joined the debate team. Dr. King won several oratorical contests and at age fifteen he passed Morehouse College entrance exams and was admitted and received on 1948, a B. A. degree. Dr. King then enrolled into Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania and in 1951 awarded the B.D. He earned his doctorate at Boston University. During this period Dr. King was exposed to learning or working with white colleagues. Dr. King came to a realization that African American and Whites can exist together without conflict. He becomes a Baptist pastor and later minister in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr. King started getting into civil rights activism and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Paris P., 1991). Together with Rosa Parks, Dr. King led the famous Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 which lasted for three hundred and eighty-five days and was concluded after Browder v. Gayle district court ruling that ended racial segregation on public transport. The Montgomery bus boycott transformed Dr. King to be known and recognized as a national figure and a hero to non-violence civil rights movement. After a successive thirteen years on civil right movement, leading a series of boycotts and campaigns Dr. King was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968 at Lorraine Motel, in Memphis.

Distinct Leadership Approach

Dr. King and Malcolm X leadership approaches are strongly anchored and molded by their socio-cultural conditions and circumstances. Both actors stimulated political, religious and social change against oppression and discrimination of African American enforced through Jim Crow laws. Both leaders were driven and motivated by the same agenda of according African American with the same opportunities, privileges and freedoms enjoyed by the Whites. Dr. King exercised and implemented non-violent protest his counterpart Malcolm X urged his supporters to counter the violence promoted by the White supremacist. Malcolm X started off with autocratic leadership style when he commenced his civil rights crusade and activism. During his first days as the Nation of Islam leader, his style of leadership was authoritative where he dictated to his followers how to mete violence with violence on the White Supremacists (Paris, 1991).

This approach was detested by other civil rights members that viewed his style was barbaric and uncouth. However, later Malcolm X developed democratic leadership style where he stops peddling hate and anger toward Whites and become more open to ideas from his followers. Malcolm X also exhibited transformational leadership style since he was able to inspire a vast number of people to transform their ways. Malcolm X transformational transitions can be reviewed from his youthful days to his demise where he turned from Malcolm Little, to Detroit Red, later Malcolm X and lastly to El Hajj Malik El Shabazz; during this period he developed a high level of consciousness (Britta, 2012).

Contrary to Malcolm X leadership doctrines, Dr. King exhibited a transformational, charismatic and democratic form of leadership. Dr. King was a transformational leader as he stimulated and inspired the Black community to overcome racial discrimination, white supremacy and while still honing his leadership capacity. Dr. King possessed the three major components that define a transformational leader which are individualized consideration, idealized influence and inspirational motivation. Dr. King sacrificed for the Black community values and equity and gave inspiration, humanity and motivation lessons to the masses on equality for all. Dr. King ideology of stimulating social equality was pegged on silent protest and freedom marches which portrayed that equal rights can be accrued through peaceful manner (Kirk, 2014). This method was projected to reach both the African American and the Whites alike so as to stimulate social equality and change.

Rhetoric Style

Dr. King and Malcolm X in their quest to improve the Blacks lives they devised rhetoric of innate shame and human rights during their campaign speeches when passing competing visions hedged on the constitution (today’s) or the American Narrative. The rhetoric style of Dr. King will be analyzed from "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and Malcolm X speech “The Ballot or the Bullet.” In both contexts, the rhetorical device employed is a shame to the Black community, the white community and their clergy and church leaders. The letter and the speech of Dr. King and Malcolm X both appeal to their target audience some sense of justice through analysis of innate rights. Dr. King in his letter employs just and unjust laws geared to prompt the audience of the movement rationality. While Malcolm X speech reviews on the dissimilarity between human rights and civil rights which reflects on Dr. King just and unjust laws. Dr. King letter is assigned to white moderates while Malcolm X speech sources to address African American rights at the ballot, but both speech and letter engenders shame to their audience. Dr. King attempts to engender shame to the white clergymen for not upholding the moral and religious obligation which translates to equal right as all men are equal to God. Malcolm X shames his audience the African American for their inability to protect them from the white aggression both mentally, physically and psychologically. Dr. King letter evokes to the audience that they are not living according to the faith they uphold. Dr. King employs religious philosopher and the persecution of both Jesus and Paul because of their faith. He shares his disappointment with the clergy and shames them of persecuting a just movement aimed at promoting justice for the majority (Paris, 1978).

Effective Leader

According to my reflection, both Dr. King and Malcolm X were effective leaders since they dealt on same matters on a different angle. Although Dr. King strategy of “weapon of love” and “silent movement” yielded more results that Malcolm X retaliatory stunts of “by all means necessary.” Malcolm X ideologies were egocentric and harsh since he only viewed his reasoning as the only means to achieve freedom and equal rights for the Black community. Malcolm X was violent in his rejection of Christian values and spread black supremacy over the white community (Bloom, 1987). Malcolm X was promoting segregationist approach which sourced to empower the African American community with a sense of belonging and pride. Contrary Dr. King maintained that self-respect would be achieved through integration. The south had many limitations of the Black community unlike Malcolm X’s North region where they had voting rights and other rights not enjoyed in the south. Dr. King criticized Malcolm X violent strategy as weak and not potent weapon to the oppressed. Malcolm X was critical of Dr. King accusing him of colluding and supporting the white supremacy and subjugating the African American community to their oppressors. Dr. King prompted the signing of Civil Rights Act of 1964 from the bill which was initiated by President John F. Kennedy triggered by the March on Washington in 1963 (Martin, 2001).

Conclusion

Malcolm x and Dr. King are key collaborators to African American democracy from white oppression. Although they shared dissimilar approach to achieving the freedom for their community each had his impact on the struggle. However, even though they both employed similar rhetoric style of shaming their aggressor and the victim they did an excellent job that paved way for equality. Malcolm X violent manner of approaching the situation was suicidal and Dr. King knew that would result to bloodshed and loss of lives. Although Malcolm changed his stance later, he is not well celebrated due to this fact. Both leaders were fearless and died true to their cause which redeemed African American from racial aggression by the white supremacist. Dr. King potent manner of weapon of love which translated to non-violence and integration earned him respect and recognition which makes him the better effective leader. However, the current environment requires leaders like Dr. King and Malcolm X since the white supremacist are resurrecting through the current government tyrant ideal of “let’s make American great again” and naming the Black community as “Black extremist.”

References

Bloom, J. (1987). Class, Race, & the Civil Rights Movement. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Britta, W.-N. (2012). Dreams and Nightmares: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Struggle for Black Equality in America. Florida: University Press of Florida.

Kirk, J. (2014). Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Routledge.

Martin, L. K. (2001). Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos Or Community? Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press.

Paris, P. (1978). Black Leaders in Conflict. New York: The Pilgrim Press.

Paris, P. (1991). Black Religious Leaders: Conflict in Unity. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press.