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Shavona Sweet
Professor White
English

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Works Cited Page

1. Carson, Clayborne. "Malcolm X." American National Biography (From Oxford
University Press) (2010): Research Starters. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
2. Tuck, Stephen. "Powerless At Home, Dangerous Abroad: The Civil Rights Act According
To Malcolm X." New Labor Forum (Sage Publications Inc.) 24.1 (2015): 69-74.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
3. X, Malcolm. "The Race Problem." African Students Association and NAACP Campus
Chapter. Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. 23 January 1963.
4. "Malcolm Xs Influence on the Black Panther Partys Philosophy."
Http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/06/15/malcolm-x-black-panthers/. Web
5. Harris, Trudier. Martin Luther King Jr., Heroism, And African American Literature.
Tuscaloosa: University Alabama Press, 2014. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost).
Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

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111-0022
February 20, 2016
Compare or Contrast Essay
From the 1920s to the 1960, the African American race had the luxury of following two
very influential and powerful leaders of the United States of America. These leaders are both
Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. Although these men both had a significant role in the way
African American people lived in the United States, they had very different views on the way
society should be. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in peace and integration. In contrast Malcom
X believed in violence and separation.
First, Martin Luther King Jr. was the representative for a more positive and peaceful
approach to segregation and equality. Martin Luther King Jr. growing up in Atlanta and
witnessing segregation and racism every day, King was fascinated by the idea of refusing to
cooperate with an evil system (King, Stride, 73). For example, During the Montgomery boycott
King eventually decided not to use armed bodyguards despite threats on his life, he also showed
no negative reaction to all the violent experiences, such as the bombing of his home. Instead he
displayed acts of compassion and love which were acts followed by thousands of men and
women both black and white.
In contrast, Malcolm X is an advocate for fighting violence with violence. He felt African
Americans were entitled to secure their rights "by any means necessary" as said in his final
speech before incarceration, including the use of violence. This phrase alone proves to be a
phrase that has had a violent effect of society simply because it was a phrase that was accepted
and carried out by the Black Panther Party to justify their use of violence against people that

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wished ill will and violence upon them. Malcom xs approach to violence was an approach
followed by thousands of African American people.
Next, Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader for integration, which was not an
ideology that Malcom X supported. Martin Luther King wanted unity and equality among all
races. He wanted every races to be able to acquire the same jobs, go to the same places, and be
compassionate towards one another. However, against his beliefs there was ongoing inequalities
that African-Americans face in employment, education, and criminal justice. So because of this
he made efforts to successfully have an integrated group of people to participate in his march on
Washington. Once he successfully achieved an integrated audience he presented his famous I
have a dream speech. The speech publically identified his views on the societies separation
through segregation, he went on to say that he dreams of a free and equal country. One that can
work and live together in peace and harmony no matter the colors of our skin. He wanted a
society that worked and cooperated with one another similar to a team.
Malcom X however was not interested in being united with the white community. His
fight was not to become equal and integrated in the communities of the white man but to
simply create a separate community for African Americans. His goals were to ensure that African
American people could build and grow on their own with no control by the white man. In one
of Malcom Xs speeches he says We don't go for segregation. We go for separation. Separation
is when you have your own. You control your own economy; you control your own politics; you
control your own society; you control your own everything. You have yours and you control
yours; we have ours and we control ours. A series of statements that identifies his belief on
separation rather than integration.

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In conclusion, although both men fought for one common people. The changes and
impressions they made upon people are significantly different because of the views on violent
behavior and their ideals of an integrated society. Because of these factors amongst many others
these two prominent American leaders can very easily be contrasted.