In the 20^th century, many African Americans were participating in the Civil Rights movement. However, many of them had different ideas about precisely what rights or other benefits they wanted or how they would try to get them. Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were ardent Civil Rights activists, but had very different ideas about the movement, and different methods of achieving their goals.

Michael Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. In 1935, his father, a Baptist minister, changed both of their names to Martin to honor Martin Luther, who founded the Protestant Church. In 1948, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in Georgia, and in 1951, he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary. He received his PhD at Boston University, and also met his future wife Coretta Scott there. Martin Luther King Jr. was greatly influenced by Henry David Thoreau’s ideas of nonviolent civil disobedience and Mohandas Ghandi’s ideas of “passive resistance.” He used these ideas when planning protests and strikes to support the Civil Rights movement (Biography). Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Earl Little, was a Baptist speaker and a supporter of Marcus Garvey and his “Back to Africa” ideas. Before he was born in Omaha, the Ku Klux Klan had attacked the house because of Earl Little’s work with Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, or UNIA. When Malcolm was born, his family moved to Milwaukee, and then Lansing. While there, a local hate society called The Black Legion burned down their house. Afterwards, his mother and father had very tense relations, his father often beating his mother (Malcolm X 3-4). In 1931, his father died, and Malcolm believed that he had been murdered since his “father’s skull, on one side, was crushed in,” and because there had always been hate groups after them (Malcolm X 9-11). His mother was declared insane in 1938, and the children split up and sent to foster homes (Malcom X 19-21). He turned to a life of crime, and was arrested and jailed.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister like his father and grandfather. In1947, King was ordained a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In 1954, he “accepted the pastorale” of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama (Nobel Foundation). Along with the fact that he earned a Bachelor of Divinity in college, his religious history makes it quite apparent that he was a dedicated Baptist. Malcolm X became influenced by the ideas of the Nation of Islam while he was in prison. He learned of the ideas that everyone had originally been black, and among other things, that “the white man was the devil.” When he was released, he went to meet Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the group. He then changed his surname to X, representing the African family name that he could not know because of his slave name, Little (Malcolm X 172-203).

King worked to get desegregation, the right to vote for all blacks, and other basic civil rights that blacks were denied, and equality in general. King also believed that blacks and other disadvantaged groups should receive compensation for any wrongs that had been done them. He did not believe that it would be possible for the government to fully reimburse all families for money lost because of slaver, but he proposed that the government should spend 50 billion dollars to compensate all poor groups. He supported this by saying that “the money spent would be more than amply justified by the benefits that would accrue to the nation through a spectacular decline in school dropouts, family breakups, crime rates, illegitimacy, swollen relief rolls, rioting and other social evils” (Haley). The Civil Rights goals of Malcolm X changed from when he was young to when he got older. When he was younger and with the Nation of Islam, he hated whites and felt that the ideas of his group were true. He also hated the blacks that he believed worked for the whites, and those that supported integration into the white community, and defended the Nation of Islam stubbornly. For example, once there was a college girl that heard Malcolm X speak about his beliefs that all whites were evil, specifically talking about how white men cheated on their wives with slave women. The conversation showed how strongly Malcolm X felt against the whites (Malcolm X, 292):

“Don’t you believe there are any good white people?” I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I told her, “People’s deeds I believe in, miss—not their words.”

“What can I do?” she exclaimed. I told her, “Nothing.” She burst out crying, and ran out and up Lenox Avenue and caught a taxi.

Malcolm X later regretted this as shown when he said in an interview with Gordon Parks:

“I realized racism isn’t just a black and white problem. It’s brought bloodbaths to about every nation on earth at one time or another. Brother, remember the time that white college girl … who wanted to help the Black Muslims and the whites get together — and I told her there wasn’t a ghost of a chance and she went away crying? Well, I’ve lived to regret that incident. In many parts of the African continent I saw white students helping black people. Something like this kills a lot of argument. I did many things as a Black Muslim that I’m sorry for now. I was a zombie then … I was hypnotized, pointed in a certain direction and told to march. Well, I guess a man’s entitled to make a fool of himself if he’s ready to pay the cost. It cost me 12 years. That was a bad scene, brother. The sickness and madness of those days — I’m glad to be free of them.”

This change occurred after his trip to Africa, and he saw Muslims treating each other as equals, and whites helping blacks. It caused him to gain a more conventional view on Civil Rights, trying to gain equality.

Martin Luther King supported use of nonviolent protest, such as boycotts, marches, and speeches. For example, in December 1955, after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a bus, he led a bus boycott against Montgomery’s segregated buses for 382 days. He also had voter registration drives when he would help blacks register to vote, and organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. At the March on Washington, Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech (Biography.com). Malcolm X used publicity to show his views. He publicly criticized anyone that he disagreed with, such as Martin Luther King, calling his March on Washington the “Farce on Washington.” He used a television broadcast in New York City, and many interviews to spread his views about the Nation of Islam. However, after his trip to Mecca, he used the same channels of information to spread his changed ideas, saying that blacks should try to cooperate with whites, and campaign for equality of the races (Malcolm X 274-276, 285-286, 381-389, etc).

Martin Luther King had his house bombed multiple times by whites that disliked his ideas. For example, during his bus boycott in Montgomery, Martin Luther King was arrested and had his house bombed (Nobel Foundation). Also, “King was arrested and jailed by Southern officials on several occasions, was stoned and physically attacked, and his house was bombed. He was also placed under secret surveillance by the FBI…” and on other occasions was discredited by newspapers. However, many whites did support his cause by participating in the protests and marches (Biography.com). Malcolm X gave a generally negative impression to whites, because of the beliefs of the Nation of Islam that all whites were Satan. He was also much more militant than Martin Luther King. Malcolm X said that John F. Kennedy getting assassinated was a case of “the chickens coming home to roost,” and added, “Chickens coming home to roost never made me sad. It only made me glad.” These ideas caused him to be peppered with death threats, and to be censured by a wide variety of people (Kulawik).

Martin Luther King helped a generation of black Americans fight for equality. As said on Biography.com, “few could deny that he had been the guiding light for 15 of the most crucial years in America’s civil rights struggle.” After King died, there were many riots. Also, many people and places have honored Martin Luther King Jr. President Johnson began Martin Luther King Day to honor King’s goals and actions. President Jimmy Carter posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. King has also received many other prizes, had many streets named in honor of him, and has been awarded various honorary degrees. Malcolm X fought for Civil Rights throughout his life, though his ideas changed near the end. Many people attended his funeral to mourn him. Though his ideas were very controversial, he helped influence blacks in the United States to fight for their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. said that although they disagreed on many points, Malcolm X had definitely had a great concern for the troubles of his race (Malcolm X Epilogue). Elijah Muhammad, however, said that “Malcolm X got just what he preached (Evanzz).”

At the age of 39, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated as he stood on the balcony of his motel. He was at Memphis supporting black city workers who were striking for higher wages and better treatment. It is uncertain who killed him, since “escaped convict James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the murder, although he later insisted he was innocent (Biography.com).” Malcolm X was also assassinated. He was at the Audubon Ballroom, and some men in the front row fired multiple shots at him with a shotgun and some revolvers. After he died in the hospital, many people mourned his death (Malcolm X 441-444).

Martin Luther King Jr. supported peaceful protests and rallies. Malcolm X was more militant and aggressive. Both were passionate Civil Rights activists, though they had very different views. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are still remembered for their contributions to society and their beliefs.