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Armani Lashley
Mrs. Simmons
Computer Technology Research
April 15, 2015
The Journey for Equality
In time of Crises, we often look toward those individuals, blessed
with the skill of leading. Individuals, of whom a community can look to
for comfort and trust that the individual will fight for the cause at hand,
without fear of the consequences. While there have been many of such
individuals to come and go throughout Americas history, none has
arguably had the impact that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had
during the 60s. The 60s served as a period of time in which America found itself in the trenches
of war, with the south serving as the battle ground, and racial discrimination as its enemy.
Leading the troops under fire into battle were the two brave men, Martin Luther King and
Malcolm X. While both hoped to find justice for the oppressed, they differed on the method in
which one should go about achieving such justice. Through the battle, you find that while both
started out going down different paths, they eventually found themselves on the same road,
standing side by side as symbols for hope and equality for generations to come.
Philosophy often is a result of our own life experiences. History has shown this to be true.
Look at the greatest philosophers throughout history; they all formed their theology from events
and influences they encountered. One of the pioneers of economics, Karl Marx developed what
people now call socialism or communism. His stance came as a direct result of his poor

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upbringing, and shortcoming as an adult. It is no different for King and X. In order to begin to
understand their perspective philosophies, one must understand their foundations.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in his grandparents' home. The Kings
lived on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, which was an upper class area for African
Americans during this period. Martin fathers reputation as an up and coming preacher around
the Atlanta area earned him a preacher position in two small churches outside the city limits of
Atlanta. Eventually, King Jr.s father gained the reverence over Atlanta's well-recognized
Ebenezer Baptist Church. While at the same time involving himself in the local chapter of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or more commonly referred to as
NAACP. Both Kings father and mother did fairly well, making them one of the few financially
secure middle-class families. King received a better education than the average African
American. His fathers high position in the church afforded opportunities for King and his
siblings that were not too common amongst the Negro community. At an early age, King
recognized the opportunities made available to him and used this as a springboard to live a life of
social protest, in hopes of extending those same opportunities to all blacks.
Only fifthteen, King attended Atlantas Morehouse College, where he earned his
Bachelors of Arts degree, in Sociology, in 1948. During his time at Morehouse, King discovered
the essay Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, planting this idea of justice over law.
Along with Thoreau, King developed a relationship with the president of the school, Benjamin E.
Mays. Mays instilled a foundation of religion in the young MLK, helping him to understand the
importance of God in the process of social change. Shortly after receiving his Morehouse
sociology degree, King began studies at the Crozer School. His time spent at Crozer served as
the foundation for his developed philosophy. King studied theologians such as Plato, Aristotle,

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Luther, Locke, but none held as much merit as the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Crozer planted
the seed of non-violent protest in King, a seed that would turn into a countrywide movement
during the 60s. After leaving Crozer, King and his newlywed wife Coretta Scott moved to
Montgomery, Alabama, where King became the Baptist pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist
church. In the right place at the right time, King became involved in the Montgomery Bus
Boycott. Eventually, achieving appointment as the president of the Montgomery Improvement
Association, which came about during the boycott. Kings emergence into leadership roles during
the boycott gave way to his newly established organization, the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference or (SCLC). The SCLC dedicated themselves to the use of non-violence, taking on
the motto, "Not one hair of one head of one person should be harmed" (Martin Luther King).
King was officially apart of a movement that would become bigger than he ever could have
imagined.
Lingering up north was the story of an emerging Malcolm X. On 19 May 1925, Louise
Norton Little and Earl Little had their fourth child, Malcolm Little. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, it
would not be too long before the Little family relocated to Lansing, Michigan. Malcolms mother
was a homemaker, whose main responsibility was to care for Malcolm and his seven other
siblings. His father, on the other hand, was an opinionated Baptist minister and devoted
supporter of Black Nationalist movement. A movement lead by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican
political leader, who believed in, the unification and empowerment of African American men,
women and children under the banner of their collective African descent, and the repatriation of
African slave descendants and profits to the African continent(Marcus Garvey). Earls
involvement in civil rights activism made him a target for the white supremacist organization
Black Legion. As a result, Malcolms Family slowly tore to shreds. Nineteen twenty-nine, after

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several attempts to harm Malcolms family, Authorities found Earl Littles body lying across the
towns trolley tracks. While police ruled Earls death as an accident, the Littles undoubtedly
knew the white supremacist organization, Black Legion, were responsible. Louise suffered
emotional breakdown and was committed to a mental institution, splitting Malcolm and his
siblings up among various foster homes. The State Welfare Agency pawned Malcolm off to a
white foster family in Lansing. After growing annoyed with his home situation, a fifth teen year
old, Malcolm decides to move in with his older sister, who at the time lived in Boston. Here
Malcolm begins to come into manhood.
In search of his Identity, Malcolm found comfort in trivial criminal activities. Eventually
earning himself the name Detroit Red, because of the reddish shade in his hair. Malcolm fell
deeper and deeper in to the street life. He developed into a street hustler, drug dealer, and leader
of a gang of thieves in Roxbury and Harlem. It was not too long before Xs fast life caught ahold
of him, as he was arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946. Malcolm received a
sentence of 10 years in prison, however leaving on parole after serving seven years. While
serving his time, Malcolm found reconciliation in furthering his education. During his time in
prison, Malcolm received a visit from his Brother Reginald who discoursed his conversion to the
Muslim religion, and his allegiance to the religious organization, the Nation of Islam. Enthralled,
Malcolm began to study the teachings of leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that the
goal of white society aspired to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and
achieving political, economic, and social success. The teachings resembled those of a
philosopher Marcus Garvey. As Marcus Garvey, The Nation of Islam fought for a state of their
own, isolated from one colonized by white people. Paroled in 1952, Malcolm, more enlightened,
dedicated himself to the cause of The Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammads teachings. In

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accordance to his new alliance to the NOI, Malcolm dropped little as his last name and replaced
it with the letter X. He believed Little was the name given by slave master to his ancestors,
therefore, Malcolm chose the X to signify his lost tribal name. Elijah Muhammad first
encountered Malcolm X in Chicago around 1952. Leaving a lasting impression, Muhammad put
X in charge of organizing temples in both the North and the South. Malcolm quickly started to
mark his mark on the surging movement, creating the Nations newspaper, Muhammad
Speaks. Using his hustlers smarts, he printed the papers in the basement of his home, adopting
a recruiting and fund-raising technique.
Malcolms articulate public speaking and captivating personality helped him to rise in the
ranks of the nation. Soon, earning him the position, minister of Boston Temple No. 11, as well as
the minister ship of Temple No. 7 in Harlem, the largest and most prestigious temple in the
Nation. In time, receiving the title of the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, second
in rank to Muhammad himself. Malcolm had become the face of a movement reckoned with
during the 60s unrest.
The war was on and leading the two herds were the newly converted Malcolm X and new
young talent Martin Luther King Jr. Both were new to the movement and were a breath a fresh
air for their followers. Each, while on two different sides of the table began to enforce their
ideals upon the country. Martin explained his philosophy in the book Stride toward Freedom.
The art of True pacifism, or nonviolent resistance, King wrote, is a courageous
confrontation of evil by the power of love (King, Stride, 80). King profess to followers of his
teachings that the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of
nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their struggle

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for freedom (King, Stride, 79). King went about implementing these ideas through six
principles of Non-violence and six steps of Non-violent social change. They are as follows:
SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE
1. PRINCIPLE ONE: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
2. PRINCIPLE TWO: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.
3. PRINCIPLE THREE: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.
4. PRINCIPLE FOUR: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and
transform.
5. PRINCIPLE FIVE: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
6. PRINCIPLE SIX: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of
justice.
SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE
1. INFORMATION GATHERING
2. EDUCATION
3. PERSONAL COMMITMENT
4. DISCUSSION/NEGOTIATION
5. DIRECT ACTION
6. RECONCILIATION
(King Family, King Center).
Many often confused the methods of non-violence with civil resistance. King makes it known that
non-violence is not a position of weakness rather a position of strength. Stressing the importance,
that love is more potent than hate and violence.

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While King was more clear-cut, Malcolms philosophy stood to be more complicated being that
Malcolms outlook must be divided into two periods: Malcolm, before the 1963 travels to Africa,
the Middle East and Europe, and Malcolm, after the 1963 travels to Africa, the Middle East and
Europe. Prior to Malcolms Excursion oversees, he felt that the Afro-Americans should be separate
from the rest of America, and have the ability to self-govern. Following the teachings of Elijah
Muhammad, Malcolm X preached Black Nationalism, a philosophy that stemmed from the late
Marcus Garvey. Malcolm and the NOI broke up this philosophy of Black Nationalism into three
distinct categories: a political philosophy, an economic philosophy and a social philosophy. The
Political aspect pertained to the belief that, the black man should control the politics of his own
community. Economic philosophies stated that, the black man should have a hand in controlling
the economy of the so-called Negro community. Last but not least, the Social aspect, which
Malcolm explained in the terms that, instead of the black man trying to force himself into the
society of the white man, we should be trying to eliminate from our own society the ills and the
defects and make ourselves likeable and sociable among our own kind. After going overseas,
Malcolm stance lightened and became more on the side Kings. While he did not fully embrace all
of Kings teachings, Malcolm became more willing to work with any figures or groups who wanted
to fix the problem of racism. Xs international travels was the first time Malcolm experience people
of all colors worshiping and showing brother ship. He could find no reason to hate per say the
white man because they all acted as his brothers under the Muslim religion. Malcolms feelings
toward the world change because of the amounts of love he received. It resulted in a more peaceful
Malcolm. To add more fuel to the fire, he learned of scandal and dishonesties within the Nation of
Islam that caused him to disassociate from the organization. Now separate from NOI, Malcolm

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created Muslim Mosque, Inc., which vowed to fight for equality for everyone and strayed away
from the radical views of Black Nationalism.
The role of each of these men were essential to the civil rights movement during the 60s.
Having two men who came from two completely different standpoints made it so that all AfroAmerican could join the fight. Both King and X represented two different backgrounds, two
different personality, making so everyone could have a leader from which they could identify with.
All of their followers grew with the progression of the path they had set out. Regardless of the path
either men took in their attempt to enforce civil rights for the oppressed, both came to stand on one
common idea. The idea that love will conquer all. While it may have taken Malcolm a bit longer
than king to come to that conclusion, they both recognized loves place in the fight for equality.

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Works Cited
King, Martin Luther, Jr. Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story (King Legacy). Ed.
Clayborne Carson. Reprint ed. N.p.: Beacon Press, 1957. Print.
Ladenburg, Thomas. "Martin Luther King & Malcolm X on Violence and Integration."
digitalhistory. Thomas Ladenburg, copyright, 1974, 1998, 2001, 2007, n.d. Web. 12 Apr.
2015. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit11_6.pdf>.
MalcolmX. 2015. THE ESTATE OF MALCOLM X, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.
<http://malcolmx.com/>.
Mamiya, Lawrence A. "Malcolm X: American Muslim Leader." Britannica. 2015
Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/359906/Malcolm-X>.
X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Comp. Alex Haley. Reprint ed. N.p.: Penguin,
1965. Print.
KingCenter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. Photo
copyright The King Center, Flip Schulke, Benedict Fernandez, n.d. Web. 13
Apr. 2015. <http://www.thekingcenter.org/>.