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Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

Understanding why the black civil rights movement became more radical over time.

Martin Luther King 1955-64

A time of immense success in the Civil Rights movement

ABOVE IS KING IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, DURING HIS MOST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN AGAINST SEGREGATION. TO THE RIGHT HE ADDRESSES 100,000 DEMONSTRATORS IN WASHINGTON IN THE LARGEST PEACEFUL PROTEST IN US HISTORY.

Following Kings sudden elevation to fame after the Montgomery Boycott, he became the leader of a movement, though it was not one unified group, but a large number of small groups with lots of different aims and goals. Question: (Easy) Do you think it would have been difficult to steer this movement in the right direction? Question: (Medium) Do you think that it would have been more or less likely that a movement made up of lots of smaller groups would start to become more radical? Explain your answer fully.

Different Groups In The Civil Rights Campaign

The Greensboro Sit Ins

Not long after the conclusion of the

Montgomery Bus Boycott, King wrote 'Stride Towards Freedom'. This was read by some students at Greensboro, North Carolina and they started the student sit-in of the Woolworth's lunch counter which had a policy of not serving African-Americans. Though the students were frequently abused and assaulted, they never fought back. The same tactic - a non-violent response to violence - was also used by the Freedom Riders in their campaign to desegregate transport. The Freedom Riders

This is an interstate bus set on fire by angry southern white racists. Racially mixed buses from drove from North to South organised by CORE the Commission on Racial Equality. To many in the civil rights movement, J F Kennedy brought hope that things would change for the better. This did not initially happen in the young presidents time in office. To test how committed Kennedy was to the civil rights issues, CORE planned another Freedom Ride. In this protest, white passengers would sit in seats reserved for black passengers and vice versa. When a bus stopped, whites would use the rest areas reserved for blacks and blacks would attempt to use the rest rooms reserved for whites. CORE director James Farmer defended the motives of the Freedom Riders by stating quite simply that they were merely enforcing the law as laid down by Americas Supreme Court and that they were, in fact, upholding the law. The Freedom Ride left Washington DC on May 4th, 1961. The plan was to arrive in New Orleans on May 17th. The significance of this date was plain to all the seventh anniversary of the Brown v Topeka decision by the Supreme Court. This Freedom Ride met little resistance in the Upper South.

However, the same was not true in Birmingham, Alabama, where the police chief, 'Bull' Connor, saw the Freedom Ride as a challenge to his authority in the city. May 14th was Mothers Day in Birmingham. Connor had given his police in the city the day off to celebrate the day with their family. However, it was also known that the Freedom Ride would be in the city on this day and that any protestors would not be policed. A mob greeted the Riders and many on the bus were severely beaten. Connor claimed that he knew nothing about the plans for the attack and the Freedom Riders received no support from Alabamas governor:

When you go somewhere looking for trouble, you usually find itYou just cant guarantee the safety of a fool and thats what these folk are, just fools. Governor Patterson
Before reaching Birmingham, the Freedom Riders had split with one group going to Birmingham and another to Anniston. The Riders who pulled into Anniston were attacked by a mob of about 200. The bus was stoned and it tyres were slashed. The driver managed to get the bus out of the town but when the driver pulled over to change its tyres some six miles from Anniston, the bus was firebombed. Eventually JFKs brother Bobby, the Attorney General, got involved to protect the riders and he enforced the laws that already existed desegregating interstate transport.

Question: (Advanced) Did Martin Luther King really lead this movement or did it lead itself?

Birmingham Alabama and Bull Conor

In 1963, Birmingham became a focus for the civil rights movement. Birmingham, as a city, had made its mark on the civil rights movement for a number of years. Whether it was through the activities of Bull Connor or the bombed church which killed four school girls, many Americans would have known about Birmingham by 1963. Both SNCC and the NAACP were relatively inactive in Birmingham; so any civil rights campaign could be lead by SCLC without too much rivalry. Martin Luther Kings brother was also a pastor in the city so family connections helped the role of SCLC.

Why was Birmingham so important? You Evaluate! A) It was a KKK stronghold and King described it as Americas worst city for racism. City businessmen actually believed that racism held back the city but their voices were usually quiet. In recent years, the KKK had castrated an African American; pressured the city to ban a book from book stores as it contained pictures of black and white rabbits and wanted black music banned on radio stations. B) Any civil rights campaign in the city would almost certainly provoke trouble and gain the movement the national outcry that would result. Any serious trouble could lead to Kings desired policy - federal intervention. The head of the police was called "Bull" Connor - a man who believed in segregation. When the Freedom Riders had driven through Birmingham and were attacked, there were no police to assist them as Connor had given them the day off as it was Mothers Day..Birmingham and Connor would get the civil rights movement back on track after the problems it had experienced. C) The SCLCs campaign in Birmingham was better planned but not without problems. In this sense King lead the movement rather than followed events. However, the local SCLC leader was not well liked among the African American community and demonstrations were poorly attended. Demonstrations were held in areas where African Americans lived not conspicuously in the city centre. At one stage, African American onlookers were asked to join in to give the impression of mass commitment among the community of Birmingham. The lack of local involvement was the result of the imminent retirement of Bull Connor - many felt that things would improve once he was gone. D)Kings saving grace was Connor. He had a notorious temper and he saw what were in fact relatively low key protests as a threat to his rule in Birmingham. He set police dogs on to the protesters and suddenly Birmingham got national attention. King was arrested for defying an injunction that denied his right to march. He was kept in solitary confinement and was refused the right to see his lawyer. Only the intervention of J F Kennedy got his release. E) To continue the campaign in Birmingham, King used children. Many adults still remained distanced from the protest. Though King did not want to use children, the film of Connors

men using high pressure hoses and dogs on them was shown throughout USA. 500 youths were arrested and jailed. Birmingham appeared to be descending into chaos when King called for a one-day halt to the protests. This angered local civil rights leaders who called King "Mister S-H-I-T". Why did King call for a halt?(MEDIUM)

JF Kennedy had stated that what was happening in Birmingham was damaging America. King responded accordingly. However, many realised that it was Kennedy who had got King out of jail in BirminghamMany local civil rights leaders felt that King was submitting to the power of white politicians - hence the "Uncle Tom" tag which followed King around in some quarters until his death in 1968.

What do you think they might have meant by Uncle Tom? (MEDIUM)

Did Birmingham improve? Stores were desegregated; opportunities for African Americans in jobs improved (though from what to what?) and a biracial committee was set up to improve Birminghams troubled community. However, the talks were wrecked by the bombing of the house that belonged to Kings brother. Kings motel room was also bombed. These outrages provoked riots among the local African-American community. The white response? 1100 students who had attended the demonstrations were expelled for truancy from city schools and colleges. Only a federal court order got them reinstated.

What was gained at Birmingham ? You Evaluate! A) The SCLC had gauged Connor correctly and he had shown himself and the authorities to be immoral. B) The scenes of police dogs attacking children and youths were broadcast into every home in the USA. They pushed Kennedy into greater action - civil rights legislation shortly followed. The media had once again shown America what life was like for African Americans in the South and probably provided the movement with its greatest boost. C) Extra money poured into the SCLCs coffers as a result of this event.

I Have a Dream In 1963, at a mass rally in New York, Martin Luther King gave possibly the most famous speech of the 20th Century. In it he said: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

Following this speech, Kings popularity and power began to decline, why might this have been? Look at the growing radicalisation of the movement and Kings actions (Clue!)

Part Two: Malcolm X

Malcolm X was the other face of the Black movement, but unlike King he did not preach non violence, he believed blacks should be prepared to defend themselves with armed force if they were under threat of violence. Malcolm X believed in separatism blacks living separate from whites in USA. His family was poverty stricken as his father died young. His mother could not cope and he was brought up by white foster parents. Malcolm X grew up an angry young man. In 1941 he dropped out of school and moved to Bostons ghetto. He became a shoe-shine boy and a railroad waiter. He got involved in drug dealing, burglary and pimping. In 1945 Malcolm X received a 10-year jail sentence for his crimes. He had clearly lived a very different life to Martin Luther King. Why might this be important in understanding his political outlook? (Medium)

 While in prison in Massachusetts, Malcolm X became a member of Nation Of Islam. Malcolm X He was released from prison in 1952 and adopted the name Malcolm X as he believed Malcolm Little represented a slave name. He worked within the NOI movement. He quickly rose in importance within NOI and as Minister of Temple Number 7 in Harlem (NY) he gathered around him a number of devoted followers all from the ghetto. Malcolm X referred to white people as devils and he rejected integration in favour of segregation. Martin Luther King wanted to end segregation, why might Malcolm X have advocated it? (Easy)

His verbal attacks against White America became more and more bitter. Malcolm X became a national/international figure between 1959 and 1965. He was accused of being a racist when he said: The Negro revolution is controlled by foxy white liberals, by the Government itself. But the Black Revolution is controlled only by God Do you agree (Advanced) explain your answer However, members within NOI believed that he was using the organisation for his own benefits to push his name forward at all costs. Some believed that he was scheming to replace Elijah Muhammad as leader of NOI. In 1963 members of NOI had been told by Elijah Muhammad not to comment on the death of JF Kennedy. Malcolm X refused to obey this instruction and made unsympathetic comments about Kennedys murder stating that his assassination was chickens coming home to roost. Elijah Muhammad banned him from speaking in public for 90 days and Malcolm X adhered to this. But it was a sign on the tension within NOI. Malcolm X left NOI in March 1964 as he felt that NOI was too passive as an organisation and that it was waiting for change to come as opposed to trying to force it through, as he wanted. However, he had made enemies in NOI. He set up the Muslim Mosque. Inc. and then the Organisation of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). The aim of the latter was to unite all people of African origin and to push for full independence segregation of black people in USA. However, as he got older, Malcolm X adapted his beliefs. This was almost certainly as a result of a pilgrimage he made to Mecca. By the time of his death he had embraced orthodox Islam, which included racial toleration. He started to make contact with white non-American Muslims. His supporters claim that this development was simply a sincere development in his beliefs.

His detractors believed that he was reshaping his beliefs to broaden his popularity that up to that point had targeted a very narrow front. But it counted for nothing as Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21st 1965 in Manhattan. Three members of NOI Temple No 25 were arrested, tried and found guilty of his murder Norman Butler, Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Johnson. Did he achieve anything? You Evaluate! A) Malcolm X certainly highlighted what we now view as the classic symptoms of prejudice almost like the legendary civil rights broadcast done by J F Kennedy, when the president highlighted the differences in lifestyle between blacks and whites in USA. The huge difference was the way Malcolm X believed such problems could be solved. B) Another argument has been forwarded. Malcolm X knew all along that what he was saying and pushing for would be rejected by Washington and that his views would shock the white political power brokers in Washington and make the views of Martin Luther King seem far more acceptable. C) By rejecting Malcolm X, it is said that he made Washington accept the views of King a ploy he was not only aware of but was driving all along. D) Thurgood Marshall was highly critical of Malcolm X and claimed that NOI was run by a bunch of thugs. However, many young dispossessed black youths followed him as he at the time seemed to be the only one who offered them some form of hope and future.