Compare and Contrast Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
Similarities:
Both believed that Afrikans in the US were disproportionately affected by poor healthcare, inadequate education, and substandard malnutrition due to socioeconomic status.
Both believed that SOMETHING must be done.
Both believed that waiting on the oppressor to correct these wrongs would not happen; thus the people would have to make it happen.
Both believed that their spiritual beliefs were provided a foundational basis to warrant their actions.
Both were cited as enemies by J.Edgar Hoover for, "having the power to assemble the masses".
Differences:
Malcolm was a threat because he mobilized many and was willing to use force and was willing to cripple the economy by separating.
MLK was a threat because he helped various groups of people to find common bonds, thus having the power to unite those groups and possibly change the situation by legitimately working within the shitstem and outnumbering the "few" who manipulated it for evil.
Malcolm X addressed the issues of healthcare, education, malnutrition, and financial distress from a offensive standpoint promoting separate existence for the Afrikan and providing education to address each of these issues. He essentially encouraged that Afrikans create their own financial institutions, educate their own children as well as re-educate the adults as well, and study diet and nutrition and abandon the western approach to diet altogether. Malcolm also believed that self defense in the form of violence is intelligence and that Islam is the true religion of the Afrikan. He later changed his views after a pilgrimage to Mecca to include all races acceptable in Islam. Even after this mindshift, he placed black unity above racial unity. (charity begins at home)
MLK addressed the issues of healthcare, education, malnutrition, and financial distress from a defensive standpoint and abandoned the racial overtone by promoting equality for all the disenfranchised, including poor whites, etc. (research the sanitation workers strike)
MLK viewed the problem holistically, and utilized his strong Christian spirituality to create the foundations that mirrored the teachings of the church as well as Ghandi, whom he has often credited with some of his views. MLK utilized a nonviolent approach to illustrate to the world how inhumane the conditions of many Amerikkkans were. He saw the problem as a crime against humanity, not a particular race. Many who strategized with MLK in Tennessee have reported that he would remind the organizers that the more peaceful and calm they could be, the more brutal and irrational the abuse they suffered would appear. The use of contrasting forces was an essential component in his strategy.
That is similar to what you are researching. In illustrating too very different viewpoints, you can brilliantly paint a picture of two of the most influential figures of that time period.
Hope this guide will point you in the right direction.
Blessings
RSK
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