Malcom X and the Civil Rights Movement...?

How would history be different if Malcolm X’s influence was greater than that of Martin Luther King Jr.? It is hard to say what would have happened, but Malcolm X influenced the civil rights movement in a different light as opposed to Dr. King. As King promoted peaceful discussions and protests, Malcolm X wanted something more. Malcolm and Martin had two very different approaches to advocating equality amongst Americans. As opposed to Malcolm, Martin wanted nothing to do with violence because he knew it would hinder their civil rights movement. Malcolm X was feared for possibly advocating violence to promote liberty and equality.  Malcolm X continued expressing these extreme views eve if it meant potential loss of help from Caucasian-American communities and possibly being disrespected by people in the African-American community.
His role in the civil rights movement was controversial and I think his intentions were clear but he might have made it worse for parts of the civil rights movement. 

                Born Malcolm Little, Malcolm X had a rough life, living closely with the Ku Klux Klan, who constantly tormented his family. The Ku Klux Klan was guilty of burning down two of his homes and even killing his father. This would take a toll on a child and eventually he ended up with the wrong crowd and was involved in multiple crimes, eventually leading him into jail.  After these many crimes got him into prison, he had an epiphany; a new religion. Following prison, and an Islamic revelation within his cell walls, Malcolm X became one of the strongest activists in the black community.

He had different methods from Martin Luther King (who wanted peaceful demonstrations) and sometimes advocated the violence towards their oppressors.  Though these feelings from Malcolm and many others were understandable, it was thought that his perceptions on this matter did not prove beneficial towards most of the African-American communities. I think that some of these violent methods, promoted by people such as Malcolm X, hindered the civil rights movement or at least slowed it down. A lot of people feared some of his ideals, and would end up appreciating Dr. King’s peaceful movement rather than Malcolm’s violent methods.

                The very idea of Martin Luther King Jr. promoting peace was emasculating the liberty movement that Malcolm wanted. He proposed that desegregation was not enough to grant integration among blacks and whites. Malcolm views on this this supposed integration were that they, “already existed in the form of dominant white commercial and residential ownership within segregated black neighborhoods” (Reitman 1024). It was also his belief that white people were genetically altered to feel superior and act upon it, making blacks feel inferior by nature. Malcolm proposed that this belief that this was the main reason African-Americans needed to act out against racism, inequality and white supremacy.

                Many of Malcolm’s ideas about inequalities in American came from his new found religion of Islam. He thought Islam was a religion of the oppressed and Christianity was predestined for white supremacy. I feel as though Malcolm X grasped these concepts of Islam in a different light, advising that blacks become their own nation of power through this faith. He wanted African-Americans to strive for the teachings of Islam and believed it was the only religion for African-Americans. Malcolm thought Christianity and Dr. Martin Luther King were not good enough for his movement. For him, Christianity was too weak and it favored Caucasians to remain overpowering to his ideals.

                Malcolm’s standards may have been overwhelming for some people involved in the civil rights movement; they feared it would hinder their progress. With the rise of the Black Panthers, it seemed that Malcolm had similar interests in the civil rights movement, making their message of equality strong enough to be heard. I suppose that his words may have endorsed groups such as the Black Panthers to further their progress, possibly making their motives more extreme. I have always thought being hateful will breed more hatred and cause more violence.

I confidently believe that his purposes were clear and he wanted to promote most of the same goals as King wanted, just with different tactics. I find this understandable, seeing how his past was awful but some of his ideals appeared fairly extreme. Many people of the African-American community, such as Dr. King, questioned some of his motives because they lead to further segregation among blacks and whites. These principles from Malcolm X worried much of the white community as well, as most thought he was promoting his black radicalism with violence. Because of his violent mentality, many were scared for their lives or safety. When faced with critics that assumed he only promoted violence, he would always have to find a way to prove them wrong. Malcolm tended to argue that African-Americans were reaching the point “where they are ready to tell the ‘Man,’ no matter what the odds are against them, no matter what the cost is, its liberty or death” (Mulloy 126). It is words like these made many people frightened of Malcolm X and especially his motives.

I have no doubt that King’s method of “passive resistance” to white supremacy made it easier for Caucasian-Americans to grasp the true, peaceful ideas that Dr. King wanted. I am certain that Malcolm X contributed greatly to the civil rights movement, even if a large amount of people abandoned him from his extreme views. The point is, both of them stood for equality, but Malcolm may have “turned off” a lot of people, especially when he encouraged violence as a means of promoting their individual liberties. It was this part of Malcolm X that made it hard for the African-American community, to choose which civil rights leader had the most integrity. Even if some of his methods were unsound, his role in the civil rights movement was paramount and his legacy with continue to thrive.

Work Cited:

Reitman, Meredith. "The Geography of Malcolm X: Black Radicalism and the Making of American Space,by James Tyner." Journal of Regional Science 47.5 (2007): 1024-1026. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.

Hartnell, Anna. "Between Exodus and Egypt: Malcolm X, Islam, and the ‘natural’ religion of the oppressed." European Journal of American Culture 27.3 (2008): 207-225. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.

Mulloy, D. J. "Liberty or Death": Violence and the Rhetoric of Revolution in the American Militia Movement." Canadian Review of American Studies 38.1 (2008): 119. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Oct. 2010