MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND MALCOLM X
BY: JACK DUCAT AND EMMA RICHARDSON
“All men are created equal,” that’s what the United States Constitution states. But what if at one point that wasn’t true, what if there was racial oppression. Not too long ago that was the case. African Americans and many racial minorities in America were very racially oppressed and many people were discriminatory against them.
There were two men who spoke out against the oppression, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Both fought for the same cause and wanted the same outcome. However, their beliefs had similarities and differences. You can see this in two different speeches, Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have A Dream” Speech and Malcolm X’s address to a meeting in New York.
The first way that we see the two speaker’s viewpoints is the types of words that they use. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech we see words such as, “Dream”, “Hatred”, “Rise”, “Discrimination”, “Chains”, “Crippling” and “Bitterness”. In Malcolm X’s speech in New York you see words such as, “Racial Explosion”, “Bloodshed”, “Intolerance” and “Black Nationalism”. In both, you see word choice that seems as if they both look down gloomily upon their time with the words like, “Crippling” or “Racial Explosion”. Both look at their time a see discrimination as a problem. However, Martin Luther King Jr. unlike Malcolm X also looks towards the future and sees a better world, a world where there is no racism and all are equal. He uses words such a “Dream” and “RIse” where he sees the prosperity of the world and ending racism over time.
Furthermore, you see the two speaker’s points of view through their mentioned actions. Martin Luther King Jr. shows actions like, “Police Brutality”, “Racists”, “Join Hands”, “Quest” and “Dream”. Malcolm X shows actions such as, “Seething with bitterness”, “Trickery”, “Treachery”, “Hostility”, “Beg” and “Ready to fight”. Through actions mentioned you can see that they both have a belief that African Americans are unfairly treated. However, with Martin’s actions it seems as if he wants to change the world with a peaceful approach with the actions like, “Join Hands” and “Dream”. Malcolm X looks to want to fight and take action when he says, “Ready to fight”, and “Seething with bitterness”. Unlike Martin, Malcolm wants to fight for his rights.
Moreover, you see that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both want to have equal rights but want it in different ways by the way they describe things. Martin Luther King Jr. describes things where he wants to rise up but never shows how he wants to fight. “ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed” Malcolm X talks about fighting for rights, “There are 22,000,000 African Americans who are ready to fight for independance right here. When I say fight for independance right here, I don’t mean any nonviolent fight, or turn~the~other~cheek fight. Those days are gone. Those days are over.” Malcolm X is looking to fight for justice. Not stand around and wait for the time of peace.
The last thing that differs the point of view between the two is their choice of detail and things that they left out. Both leave out the fact that things that have changed and are better so far and how oppression is a little less than time before. However, Malcolm leaves out how things could be peaceful and Martin talks about peace greatly. In choice of detail you see that Malcolm decides to use details to show how fighting will break out and Martin Luther King Jr. uses details to show how Blacks can have peace later in time. Malcolm says, “ America’s a racial powder keg, in short, it can actually fuse or ignite a world-wide powder keg.” He uses the details of fighting. Martin Luther King Jr. explains, “And when this happens and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day and all of God’s children, Black men and White men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands…” Martin Luther King Jr. wants peace for every man.
In Conclusion, Martin Luther Kings Jr. and Malcolm X have points of view that are a bit of the same and also a lot different. We see this through word choice, actions mentioned, description, choice of detail and things that they left out. Martin Luther King Jr. wants peace and equality for all without fighting for it and Malcolm X wants to fight for rights. Both believe that African Americans are racially oppressed.
There were two men who spoke out against the oppression, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Both fought for the same cause and wanted the same outcome. However, their beliefs had similarities and differences. You can see this in two different speeches, Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have A Dream” Speech and Malcolm X’s address to a meeting in New York.
The first way that we see the two speaker’s viewpoints is the types of words that they use. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech we see words such as, “Dream”, “Hatred”, “Rise”, “Discrimination”, “Chains”, “Crippling” and “Bitterness”. In Malcolm X’s speech in New York you see words such as, “Racial Explosion”, “Bloodshed”, “Intolerance” and “Black Nationalism”. In both, you see word choice that seems as if they both look down gloomily upon their time with the words like, “Crippling” or “Racial Explosion”. Both look at their time a see discrimination as a problem. However, Martin Luther King Jr. unlike Malcolm X also looks towards the future and sees a better world, a world where there is no racism and all are equal. He uses words such a “Dream” and “RIse” where he sees the prosperity of the world and ending racism over time.
Furthermore, you see the two speaker’s points of view through their mentioned actions. Martin Luther King Jr. shows actions like, “Police Brutality”, “Racists”, “Join Hands”, “Quest” and “Dream”. Malcolm X shows actions such as, “Seething with bitterness”, “Trickery”, “Treachery”, “Hostility”, “Beg” and “Ready to fight”. Through actions mentioned you can see that they both have a belief that African Americans are unfairly treated. However, with Martin’s actions it seems as if he wants to change the world with a peaceful approach with the actions like, “Join Hands” and “Dream”. Malcolm X looks to want to fight and take action when he says, “Ready to fight”, and “Seething with bitterness”. Unlike Martin, Malcolm wants to fight for his rights.
Moreover, you see that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both want to have equal rights but want it in different ways by the way they describe things. Martin Luther King Jr. describes things where he wants to rise up but never shows how he wants to fight. “ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed” Malcolm X talks about fighting for rights, “There are 22,000,000 African Americans who are ready to fight for independance right here. When I say fight for independance right here, I don’t mean any nonviolent fight, or turn~the~other~cheek fight. Those days are gone. Those days are over.” Malcolm X is looking to fight for justice. Not stand around and wait for the time of peace.
The last thing that differs the point of view between the two is their choice of detail and things that they left out. Both leave out the fact that things that have changed and are better so far and how oppression is a little less than time before. However, Malcolm leaves out how things could be peaceful and Martin talks about peace greatly. In choice of detail you see that Malcolm decides to use details to show how fighting will break out and Martin Luther King Jr. uses details to show how Blacks can have peace later in time. Malcolm says, “ America’s a racial powder keg, in short, it can actually fuse or ignite a world-wide powder keg.” He uses the details of fighting. Martin Luther King Jr. explains, “And when this happens and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day and all of God’s children, Black men and White men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands…” Martin Luther King Jr. wants peace for every man.
In Conclusion, Martin Luther Kings Jr. and Malcolm X have points of view that are a bit of the same and also a lot different. We see this through word choice, actions mentioned, description, choice of detail and things that they left out. Martin Luther King Jr. wants peace and equality for all without fighting for it and Malcolm X wants to fight for rights. Both believe that African Americans are racially oppressed.