The 1960s was a vital period for civil rights movements in the USA. For black people it was perfect time for promoting equality and non-discrimination. There were many civil rights groups and leaders that had different opinions about how to deal with injustice that had dominated in the USA for many centuries. Martin Luther King was one of the most prominent civil activists, but there were many other influential people, including Malcolm Little. Both activists were assassinated in the 1960s. One may get familiar with some of their ideas by reading their speeches “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964) and “The Three Evils of Society” (1967).
In “The Ballot or the Bullet”, Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) talked about importance of Black Nationalism for reaching justice in American society and especially in the communities where majority of inhabitants were black people. In his opinion, “Black Nationalism means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community” (Malcolm X, 1964, p. 1). Malcolm X thought that it was important to introduce new political philosophy in communities in order to gain control of the local neconomy. In order to achieve it, people had to be re-educated and change their approach to politics.
One major difference between two leaders was that Malcolm X was much more straight-forward and aggressive. He did not sympathize with the government and did not believe that they would be able to resolve racial problems. He stated that “the white man was too intelligent to let someone else come and gain control” (Malcolm X, 1964, p.2). Thus, political oppression and social degradation could not be overcome without applying the concept of Black Nationalism. Malcolm X said that instead of waiting for assistance from the government, black people had to implement “a self-help program” and “do-it-yourself” philosophy” (Malcolm X, 1964, p.3). In his speech he referred to the experience of colonies abroad and 13 colonies that formed the USA. They wanted to be independent and eventually they achieved success. Malcolm X thought that 22 million people had to fight for their rights and not expect that the Democrats or the Republicans would change the status quo that was there in the society.
On the contrary, Martin Luther King was not that radical and his speeches were less aggressive. In “The Three Evils of Society” he talked about the need of New Politics, but his arguments seemed to be less sensational. He explained that disillusionment in the society in the 1960s was caused by three factors – government’s failure to meet voters’ expectations, extreme materialism, and disease of militarism. In his opinion, the rich benefited from socialism, because they received support from the government. In the meantime, the poor suffered from capitalism, because they had no means to compete against the rich and government was not trying to help them. In general, Martin Luther King fought against racism and inequality and was trying to convince as many white people as possible that American society had to change. On the contrary, Malcolm X thought that black people were living in a nightmare and only own society dominated by black people could help to change the situation.
In conclusion, both speeches were persuasive, because Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were excellent speakers. Speeches included many facts, comparisons with foreign nations, in particular nations in Asia, which were fighting for independence, criticism of the federal government and both political parties. In addition, both speakers criticized development of democracy in the USA, because there were many societal problems such as racism, economic and political inequality. Martin Luther King was much more influential than Malcolm X. He was present in American politics for many years and he knew that had to communicate with different types of audience, including white people, in order to raise the issue of racism at the national level. Nevertheless, Malcolm X was also a very important figure in the 1960s, because he promoted the new concept of Black Nationalism in the USA. Development of radical ideas meant that in the 1960s there was a societal crisis in the USA and it was a turning point for civil rights movements that promoted equality.
References
King, M.L. (August 31, 1967). The Three Evils of Society. Address Delivered at the National
Conference on New Politics. Retrieved from
https://www.scribd.com/doc/134362247/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-The-Three-Evils-of-
Society-1967
Little, M. (April 12, 1964). The Ballot or The Bullet. Retrieved from
https://www.cis.aueb.gr/Besides%20Security/TALKS/TALKS-10-
X%20(The%20Ballot%20or%20the%20Bullet).pdf
