Malcolm X And Maya Angelou Analysis

Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. A Brief History with Documents written by David Howard-Pitney is a great history book that gives us an entry into two important American thinkers and a tumultuous part of American history. This 207-pages book was published by Bedford/St. Martin’s in Boston, New York on February 20, 2004. David Howard-Pitney worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986, and that made him a specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders ' thought and rhetoric (208). Another publication of Howard-Pitney is The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

Malcolm X, a Muslim minister, the de facto leader for Separationists, and a proponent of self-defense as a mechanism for justice and protection against the infringement of human rights, civil rights, and civil liberties, rejected Dr. King’s plight for non-violence, claiming that Dr. King embodies a turn-the-other-cheek philosophy in dealing with violent actions upon him and refutes this positioning in stating, “Because if white people get the impression that Negroes all endorse this turn-the-other-cheek cowardly philosophy, then whites are going to make the mistake of putting their hands on a Black man, thinking that he’s going to turn the other cheek, and he’ll end up losing his hand and his life in the try.” Malcolm X is often attributed with radicalized viewpoints, in comparison to Dr. King. Malcolm X embodied a position of self-defense as a means to defend the African-American community against the injustices both violent and systematic that infringed on their human rights. He differs from Dr. King in the sense that, Malcolm X believes that since violent acts are being done to African Americans, that African Americans should be able to defend themselves against these acts as opposed to taking them in stride. “Our people should start doing what is necessary to defend ourselves.

What were Malcolm X’s beliefs? What did he hope to see change, and how for that matter did he believe he could make those changes happen? While analyzing Malcolm X and Black Rage, written by Cornel West, questions such as those are brought to light. Malcolm X’s motives are further explored as author Cornel West goes into depth and critiques Malcolm X’s tactics, such as black rage and psychic conversion, why they were such an important part of his philosophy, and if he believed said tactics were effective.

MLK and Malcolm X both wanted equality but in different ways. Martin Luther King believed in nonviolence to end segregation. However, Malcolm X believed in segregation; where African Americans would govern themselves without bothering the whites. But which idea was better for society? Malcolm X’s philosophy offers a variety of solutions for

Philosophical differences between martin luther king and malcolm X The philosophical differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X have to do with the their protest strategies. MLK never fought with violence. Although he would get physically attacked, he stood his ground and continued to fight for equality peacefully. King believed that whites and blacks should come together to end the hate and violence.

Once again, Maya Angelou manages to touch our hearts again with her poetic skills in Chapter 19 titled The Champion of the World in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She recalls a time in her life where the African American community gathered at her grandmother's and uncle's store to hear a boxing match via radio. The boxing match was between the former champion Joe Louis and a white boxer. Maya Angelou takes the meaning of a simple boxing match into something more complex; she demonstrates the suffrage of her people fighting against oppression during that time period.

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were two influential men who served as important figures for the Civil Rights Movement. The two men came from diverse backgrounds and had contrasting views in life about religion and African American’s stance in society. Malcolm X was born in Nebraska and had great amounts of exposure to racism. Martin Luther King was born in an educated family in Atlanta, where he experienced racism, but to a lower extreme than Malcolm X. Although they passed away long time ago, they continue to live on today in a world independent of segregation. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X used opposing principles to achieve equality for blacks; King utilized integration of both races and nonviolence as opposed to Malcolm X who separated the same races and employed non violence so as to achieve the same goal.

This journal article belabours the point that is also a common theme in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”: Malcolm’s changing views on civil rights. Again as a result of his tumultuous childhood because of the “white man”, Malcolm generalizes all white people as essentially haters of blacks because of the negative experiences he’s had with them and the tragic ways they treated him. But, as he grows older and matures, Malcolm has the eye-opening experience of seeing people of all colors worship next to each other. This is an interaction between blacks and whites that creates a positive environment as an outcome.

Introduction: Malcom X urges the Negro community to fight to gain the equal rights they deserve by taking action against their white oppressors. He emphasizes that blacks will gain their rights either thorough voting, with the ballot, or else through the inevitable violence with the bullet. Thesis [part a] Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., also fighting for the civil rights of black Americans in the 1960s, but in a more peaceful manner, Malcom X takes a different approach.

Throughout the Autobiography of Malcolm X there are several key events the bring out the central ideas of the text. Some examples of the key events was when Mr. Ostrowski lectured Malcolm, when Malcolm was in jail and he learned the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, and when Malcolm made his pilgrimage to Mecca. A closer look at the central ideas would show that they build on one another. When Malcolm was going to school his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, told home to give up his dream of being a lawyer,” Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is to be realistic.

Imagine living in a world of segregation - constantly judged by color of one’s skin and not being permitted to associate with the “superior” race. From slavery to discrimination, African-Americans experienced this horror in daily life since the beginning of their existence. Due to the fear of severe punishment, blacks were scared to fight for equality; however, on April 3, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, one brave soul finally did. His name was Malcolm Little (known as Malcolm X), a widely acknowledged human rights activist. Although he supported black equality, he attacked the problem unlike others such as Martin Luther King Jr. did.

When I first read about the Malcolm X, it reminds me on some of the Sahabat of Prophet Muhammad that had made so many sacrifices in order to spread the truth of Islam. From the first paragraph I have read about this man, I can see that he had gone through a hard life for being isolated because of the skin color. Of course, in these days, being racist is such unacceptable thing to do regardless the religion. If we take this matter from the moral perspective, racist is injustice act and this will lead to violation of human rights. Racist also might lead the extremist to be more aggressive and the safety of the country is somehow has been unsafe.

Over the course of the American history, black people were oppressed and treated unfairly. A few ways that society treated black people is by segregating them from white people, beating them up, and taking advantage of them. As a consequence, African Americans grew up in an environment were limited in their abilities, had hatred towards the white, and had a constant judgment from white people. These factors contributed towards the way society viewed African Americans, flawed, uneducated, and poor. Yet, a notable person who overcame these obstacles and made the most out of his experiences was Malcolm X. He made a dramatic change not only in American history but in African American rights.

The most important decision of a leader is the style of leading they decide to use when inspiring others, or providing a vision for the future. By looking at the past, it is proven that some leadership styles are guaranteed to be more effective than others. The leadership style of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights provides significant evidence of how different styles of leading can turn out to be a major success or defeat. Malcolm X’s leadership style included using violence to protest against violence and unequal rights, as well as supporting the segregation of African Americans and the whites. Martin Luther King’s style included nonviolent marches and protests against violence, and peacefully fighting for integrating

Angelou’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement and her achievements as an activist were remarkable. While these achievements seem to be enough to last a lifetime, the Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning for Angelou. Angelou worked as an outspoken Civil Rights activist during the movement. But even after the Civil Rights Movement had ended, she continued to be a voice of humanity, speaking out against anything that harmed the human spirit. Angelou moved on to influence American society as a whole, from the 1970’s to the day she died, May 28, 2014.