Martin And Malcolm Two Sides Of The Same Coin Essays -

Martin And Malcolm: Two Sides Of The Same Coin Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were two of the most important and influential figures of the Civil Rights Movement during the sixties. Both Martin and Malcolm represented the two different sides of the same coin in the black movement to fight for freedom. Though the their struggle for black freedom was shared, their approach tactics were not. Both were highly intelligent, accomplished men in their own right, both were ministers of different faiths yet they both believed in the same God. Martin and Malcolm were both well matched but differently styled orators. Martins speeches were insistent to white America and at the same time soothing to his black followers, his voice soulful and inspiring. Martin spoke as if he plucked the words right out of the mouth of God. Malcolm on the other hand was fiery, outspoken, indignant, with an accusing tone pointed toward white America, and he appealed to the gut and pride of black America. Malcolm spoke fearlessly and impatiently and his words rammed straight into the hearts of his listeners. Martin represented the side of the coin that was turn the other cheek and Malcolm represented the other side which was an eye for an eye. Martin, a Southern Baptist minister preached and followed the effective ideology of Mohandas Gandhi in securing Civil Rights through peaceful, non-violent protest and advocated integration and peaceful co-existence between blacks and whites in America. Malcolm X, a former juvenile delinquent who joined the Nation of Islam and eventually became a minister for the Nation of Islam embodied militancy in the struggle for equal rights. Malcolm called for the use of any means necessary, to obtain freedom and he also believed in a separate nation for blacks--not integration. One of Martin Luthers first speeches advocating non-violence was in the light of the fire sparked by Rosa Parks that turned into the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama on December 5, 1955 into the birth of a more insistent Civil Rights Movement. In the Holt Street Baptist Church Martin preached, If you will protest courageously, and yet with Christian love,the historians will have to pause and say, There lived a great people-a black people-who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization. This speech would mark the beginning of Martins constant reminder to the black population of Christian love. Martin Luthers next speech would be given at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on May 17, 1957 celebrating the third anniversary of the Brown v Board of Education decision and sent out an appeal to Congress about the voting rights of black citizens. Voters Rights that would not be passed until almost 8 years later in 1965, and Martins speech titled Give Us the Ballot, implicated the federal governments responsibilities to uphold democracy in America and the growing impatience of the black masses. Martin Luther also called for leadership from white northern liberals, white moderates from the south, and stresses the need for leadership from the Negro community that is, calm and yet positive. Martins speech reflected the urgency of the American Negros cause, and at the end he pounds home the philosophy of the Bible Love your enemies, and stresses to the mass that We must follow nonviolence and love. Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, and he also warns against the very evil that put blacks where they were in mentioning that We must not become victimized with the philosophy of black supremacywe must follow nonviolence and love. Martin Luther kept preaching fight for freedom with nonviolence to the masses, but even with the Little Rock Nine passing through the doors of Central High School in Arkansas you could hear the impatience in his voice in many of his speeches. Martin clearly believed that true freedom for blacks did not just mean integration of schools and public facilities, that was just small steps. But to attain the coveted right to vote, meant that blacks in America had a say in their own destiny, and that they would have the power to make changes. At the Crusade of Citizenship in 1958 Martin stated his impatience, Let us make our intentions crystal