Malcolm X and Martin Luther King - Essay Example

Though these men seemed to be polarized in their approach to the civil rights movement, they were linked by the common bond of instilling a sense of extreme urgency, the possibility of violence, and a demand for justice for their followers. Though Malcolm X has been characterized as being far more radical and violent than King, this is a misconception. King understood the violence that would be involved in the struggle and the protest marches he led were marked by extreme violence. He also knew that the fight must be viewed as violent without the blacks being seen as the perpetrators.

In King's speech "I May Not Get There With You", he warns, "There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges" (cited in Dyson 2000 p.18). It is this type of rhetoric that forced the government to choose sides and illuminated their official stand as white racist (O'Reilly 1989 p.155). These were attitudes that were no less radical than Malcolm X professed.

Just as King has been mischaracterized as a pacifist in the civil rights movement, so has Malcolm X been portrayed as more radically violent than he actually was. Movies and anecdotal recollections of people involved with Malcolm X only serve to heighten this slant in the history of the man. Yet Marable (2006) contends that Malcolm X's own writings confirm that at the time of his death he was proposing, ". an unprecedented African-American united front of black political and civic organizations, including both the Nation of Islam and other civil rights groups" (p.157). This aspect of Malcolm X is often overlooked by historians and relates his depth of commitment to the struggle for equal rights and not separate rights.

The portrayal of Malcolm X as a black nationalist denies his later years as a black activist that was working for equal justice and the elevation of the dignity of the black population within white America.Both men approached the civil rights movement with a sense of urgency. Yet, once again history and the media have polarized the common perceptions of the men. King has been portrayed as a patient agent working for incremental change while Malcolm X has been viewed as an advocate for violent revolution.

Yet both men used the underlying threat of violence beyond their control to effect their ends. In King's speech "Beyond Vietnam - A Time to Break Silence" (1967), he warns America, "We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now". This sense of immediacy also resonated in Malcolm X's "do it yourself philosophy, a do it right now philosophy, an it's already too late philosophy" (qtd. in Baynes 2006). These were reminders to the opposition that they might not be able to restrain their followers for any extended time if their demands were not addressed (Walton 1972 p.85). Clearly both men were using the demand of urgency and its subtle hints of the portending violence that it brought to highlight and further their cause.

In conclusion, both King and Malcolm X realized that the struggle for