Do you agree more with the philosophies of Martin Luther King or Malcom X - Essay Example

His father was murdered during the burning of his house, an action executed by the Klu Klux Klan. His family got split later when his mother was caught in a nervous breakdown. These unforgettable and traumatic experiences during the early years of his life left their mark on his life till late. Malcolm X’s motivation partly originates in his deep desire for revenge. Both leaders had good oratory skills and used hard-hitting and powerful speeches to convey, clarify, and spread their messages across the audience, though they differed in their styles of delivery of message and the underlying purposes.

Early life experiences of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X played an important role in shaping their distinct responses to racism in America. While both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X are identified as the towering icons of the modern culture of African Americans and have great influence on the black Americans today, comparison of both the leaders reveals that the attitude of Martin Luther King was more positive as compared to that of Malcolm X as Martin Luther King believed that the blacks can achieve equal status in America as whites by conducting peaceful arguments and demonstrations.

The despair of Malcolm X about life showed in his pessimistic and fanatic belief that the blacks can never achieve equal status in America as whites because of the lack of moral conscience in the whites. Martin Luther King based his ideas upon an integrationalist philosophy that imparts a need and possibility for the blacks and whites to live together in an atmosphere of peace and harmony in America; “Yet Kings nonviolent opposition to racism, militarism, and economic injustice had deeper roots and more radical implications than is commonly appreciated” (Jackson).

On the other hand, the doctrines supported by Malcolm X were separatist and nationalist. For most of his life, Malcolm X held the