MLK vs. Malcolm X

Words that remind you of the two

Malcolm and King Quotes

Martin Luther King Jr. He was the 26-year-old

minister of the Baptist church where the original boycott meeting took place.

Dr. King became the spokesperson for the protest movement and became a leader in the civil rights movement.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

King wrote that without

nonviolent forceful direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never be achieved.

He asserted that not only was civil disobedience justified in the face of unjust laws, but that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.“

Two famous quotes from the letter are: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and, “Justice too long delayed is justice denied."

“I Have A Dream”

Dr. King spoke of his desire for a future where blacks and whites, among others, would coexist harmoniously as equals.

I have a Dream

Assassination

Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)

His father, a Baptist minister and a civil right’s activist, was killed by the Ku Klux Klan—pushed in front of a moving street car.

His mother suffered an emotional breakdown and spent the next 26 years in a mental hospital.

At 19 he was sentenced to prison for 5 years.

In prison he read constantly and converted to Islam.

Teenage Years

At 19 he was sentenced to prison for 5 years.

In prison he read constantly and converted to Islam.

Prison Years

Became an activist for the black population Criticized MLK, Jr.

He preached that white and black could not be brothers. “What I want to know is how the white

man, with the blood of black people dripping off his fingers, can have the audacity to be asking black people [why] they hate him?”

1963—challenged the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, and was suspended from the Muslim ministry.

Changing Attitudes

Leaving the nation of Islam and taking a trip to Mecca changed Malcolm’s views.

He became much less violent and extreme in his views.

“I have been convinced that some American whites do want to help cure the rampant racism which is on the path to destroying this country.”

Assassination

Malcolm was shot and killed on February 21st, 1965 while he was making a speech in New York.

Three black men from the N.O.I. were convicted of killing Malcolm

A Common Solution