THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON: KING AND X PERSPECTIVES

1963 was a year of unrest for the civil rights movement. As King preached non-violence, violent acts were springing up all over the South. In the North, the Nation of Islam was growing and building greater influence and Malcolm came more in power. One of the great moments of the civil rights movement was the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. This was ten days before President Kennedy announced his intentions to pass a civil rights bill. On this day, over 200,000 people came to march from Washington to Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. For King, this was one of the greatest accomplishments in his lifetime. This is where he became the national icon and the face of the civil rights movement. King was looked at as a leader, visionary, preacher, thinker, activist, all coming together. One other great accomplishments of the day were that in a time of such violence there was not one act of violence or injustice done during the entire rally. King talked about the need for all races to come together for this to stop. His dream was to see all come together and be a free people in the Promised Land.

However, Malcolm X had a different perspective of the march. Malcolm denounced the idea saying that this would divert blacks from the true issues within the civil rights movement. He felt that integration would destroy the black and the white man. He felt that American blacks should be more concerned with building up their own businesses and giving their own people jobs. He felt blacks should give the same race self-respect first. He disapproved of what was being done and what was being said, including what Martin Luther King was saying. Malcolm felt that King did not have a “dream but a nightmare and he was too dumb to know it”. On a number of opportunities, both men spoke against what the other person’s ideas were, however the media posed them as the “poll leaders” of the movement.

DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

There are some very drastic differences between King and Malcolm. Even when it came to their appearance, there was a great difference: King being short and stocky and Malcolm being tall and lean. King was determined to show love until the discrimination was over. King truly believed the words of the apostle Paul when he said, “Love never fails”. Malcolm, on the other hand, channeled his and other’s anger to make strides to equality. King came from wealthy, powerful background with a seminary education. On the flip side, Malcolm came from the ghetto and was considered to be a thug and self educated himself in a jail. In speeches, Malcolm used words that were from the street while King liked big words. King was very eloquent in his talking while Malcolm had more of an appearance of outburst to his speeches and conversations. King had an attitude of forgiveness and this worked well politically and his followers had the courage to face their fears, however Malcolm’s thinking helped his followers to be released from their fears because their opposition feared them.

However there were quite a few similarities between the leaders. At the beginning, they followed in the footsteps of their fathers until they began to tackle larger opponents and they became larger then their fathers. Both talked about that they knew they were going to die and die for their causes. They bucked the stereotype of blacks, which was lazy and uneducable. Both were very moral men and were effective in stirring up the white power conscience. Both men, near the end of their lives, began to work outside of just the civil rights movement and began to work on larger issues in the United States in the world. Both had a feeling that if injustice is anywhere it is a threat to justice everywhere.

CONCLUSION

Even though in the later years of life, there seemed to be similarities coming to the surface, we will never know if these two figures of the Civil Rights movement would have worked hand in hand with each other. But their lives do show a passion for the injustice that was going on in America during the civil rights movement. Even with the differences in lifestyle, philosophy, ideals, teachings, and beliefs, these men both made an impact on the United States and the world through their lives of actions and teachings. Even in their differences, these two men will forever be linked together as the pillars of the Civil Rights movement in America.

WORKS CITED

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Alex Haley, ed. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X. New York: Ballatine Books, 1965.

Bruce Perry. Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America. Barrytown: Station Hill Press, 1991.

Charles Osborne, ed. I Have A Dream. New York: Time-Life Books, 1968.

David Levering Lewis. King: A Biography. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1978.

Eyes on the Prize Volume 1: Awakenings. VHS. by 120 minutes. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System, 1995.

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Martin Luther King Jr. “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.” Historical Text Archive, April 16, 1963. http://www.historicalarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=40/ (accessed July 13, 2007).

Martin Luther King Jr. “Nonviolence And Racial Justice.” 570206: “nonviolence And Racial Justice, February 6, 1957. www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/papers/vol4/570206.004-Nonviolence_and_Racial_Justice.htm. (accessed July 15, 2007).

Martin Luther King Jr. “Pilgrimage To Nonviolence.” The Christian Century, April 13, 1960. www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1191/ (accessed July 15, 2007).

The Black Americans of Achievement Video Collection Volume 12 “Malcolm X”. VHS. by 30 minutes. Bala Cynwyd: Schlessinger Video Production, 1992.

The Real Malcolm X. VHS. by 60 minutes. New York: CBS Video Inc, 1992.

To Redeem the Soul of America. Adam Fairclough. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1987.

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