Introduction
The fight for equality in treatment took a different direction on how both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X conducted their activities. Martin Luther King believed that all could be achieved by the use of peace while Malcolm X was of the contrary opinion that anything had to be done to achieve the right of equal treatment. There are much difference between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, from their opinion and views to their actions in the public domain. Martin Luther King can be described as a statesman who majority delivered heart touching speeches about freedom, peace and democracy while Malcolm X was majorly known to be an eradicator of the people who were in any was not part of the superior race of the white.
The differences that emerge from Martin Luther King and Malcolm X ware attributed to the fact that they had different origins of childhood. Martin Luther King had his background from a comfortable middle social class home, and he achieved good education as compared to Malcolm X, who in his childhood era, experienced many forms of unprivileged background and later became self-taught from the little knowledge that he got from the primary education during his childhood. Martin Luther King originated from a family that was well known and very famous in the region of the Atlanta while on the contrary Malcolm X could be described as a person who came from a little-known family in the society. This difference in the background is believed to be what made the opinions of both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X to be completely different in their quest for equality in treatment.
Differences
Martin Luther King
In his fight for freedom and peace in the United States, Martin Luther King tried to advocate for the use of civil protests that were not violent as this was considered to him to be the most civilized way for the people to express their grievances. He tried to organize marches, protests and boycotts and by this, he hoped that he could help encourage and give hope to those African Americans who faced many forms of racial discrimination. He promoted the use of peaceful demonstrations and legal protests by the people of the America; this was in his opinion the ideal ways for the people to express their opinions (Juang & Morrissette, 45). He assured the people of the African-American origin that at one point in time, the whole world would turn to embrace his ideas of treating people with equality regardless of the race of the individual.
In all his speeches, he made references to the Bible and this drawn many people to listen to such speeches since they gave hope to the racially discriminated individuals who lived in the USA. One of the best accomplishments of Martin Luther King was the Washington march that took place on 28th August 1963. He believed that nothing could be achieved by the use of violence, and he wanted all the races to be together in everything that they did and also to be treated with equality in all the sectors of the government.
The approach that he took was aimed at bringing peace and he preached of peace, unity and love among all the races in the United States. He used different ways to express the grievances of the African American and all these forms of ideas embraced the non-violent means. He often spoke of the love that should unite the races in the world.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X had a different idea in the fight for the civil rights of the individuals in the United States; he became imprisoned for the string of some burglaries in the city of Boston. During the time in detention, he decided to convert to Islam. He embraced the culture of the Muslim during the time in prison. He also came to believe that everybody was equal in the eyes of the Allah everybody in the entire universe regardless of the color of skin or origin. He was very aggressive in the way he fought for the civil rights in America; he believed that the civil rights had to be fought for regardless of the means (Alabi, 76). He was of the opinion that the rights of the people must be given to them. Otherwise, the people should use any means that are necessary to fight for such rights.
He had a feeling that everybody in the United States was not treated with equality in all the areas; this was contrary to his religious beliefs that in the eyes of the Allah all the people in the world are equal and thus deserve equal treatment. He believed that the rights of the population had to be given to them; he considered violence to be necessary when used to fight for the rights of the citizens. Malcolm x had a different opinion regarding the Washington march; he believed that there would be many problems when the whites and the blacks became united as any form of integration would affect both the races. All he wanted was for the blacks to start by caring for their fellow blacks as this would create unity in the black race and they would form a force.
He wanted the African American to first of all appreciate their nature as blacks and ensure that they respect the black race. He was of the contrary opinion to Martin Luther King; he said that the ambition of Luther to unite the races of blacks and whites in the United States could not bear any fruit in the long run. He was always suspicious of all the whites and believed that the whites would do more harm to the blacks of they were not controlled. He believed in segregation until when he converted to Muslim.
Similarities
Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had a dream; the dream was fighting for equal treatments of all the races in the world. They helped the African American to fight for justice and fair treatment in all the sectors of the economy. They wanted the nations of the world to treat people with fairness in each and every activity, and believed that one time in history the world would hear their plight in the fight for equality in the treatment. They were against any form of racism that was practiced in the United States of America. Though their ideas the world has changed in how they perceive different races. The people of the current world can now breathe fresh air of equal treatment, and this can be seen in the United States, they have a black president.
Works cited
Alabi, Adetayo. Telling Our Stories: Continuities and Divergences in Black Autobiographies. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Internet resource.
Juang, Richard M, and Noelle Morrissette. Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History : a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print.
