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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1993)
Civil rights leaders bring distinct styles to movement King, Malcolm disagree on best path Editor’s note This is in essay to dose February’s Black History Month Cdebrs tlon. Blacks have been denied equal rights in the continent of North America for nearly 400 years. Brought over as slaves, these Afri can people, once rich with a his tory, culture and land of their own, were robbed of the possessions Americans hold most dear. Since then, many people have fought for the rights of black people in this nation. Two very important people at the forefront of this fight were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In the struggle of black people, both had similar goals for black people, but with very differ ent approaches to achieving those goals. > To really understand the differ ence between these two men, one must first realize that they came from drastically different back grounds. This is probably the key in determining the reason for their dissimilarities. Malcolm X, bom Malcolm Little, experienced a very hard childhood. When Malcolm was very young, his father, a follower of Pan African leader Marcus Garvey, was mur dered by white men and his mother was committed to an insane asy lum. Malcolm was then shifted from i home to home. These frequentshifts prevented him from becoming in volved in strong relationships. In his teen-age years, Malcolm found himself in a life of crime. He be came a full-time hustler, dope ped dler, pimp and subsequently was convicted and sentenced to lOyears in prison. On the other side of the coin, Martin Luther King was brought up in rather congenial surroundings. Both his mother and father were f>resent throughout his life. King’s ather was a baptist minister, which helped instill many values in King. King’s choice to become a minister is an indication that he must have seen his father as a role model — another one of Malcolm’s lacking components. Development of philosophies King had always been a home town hero in Montgomery, Ala., due to his uplifting sermons and speeches. But he gained his first political spotlight when he decided to be the spokesman for the Mont gomery bus boycott in 1956. After the boycott’s victory, King took a power position in what would soon come to be the Civil Rights struggle. He set his eyes on the issue of segregation. King believed that separation of races was inherently destructive to this generation’s chil dren and their future children. In this mode, Civil Rights became King’s political philosophy. While in jail, Malcolm was vis ited by a relative, who informed him of a man named the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, a leader of a religious sect called the Black Mus lims. This man, Muhammad, was believed to have seen God in the form of a man namedMaster Wallace D. Fard. Master Fard gave Muhammad the knowledge mat black people wereGod’schosen peopleinbond age and that Islam was the religion that would set black people free. Muhammad wrote encouraging let ters to Malcolm while Malcolm was in jail and spoke to him with a compassion and understanding he had never known before. Through Muhammad’s letters, Malcolm was inspired to read and to gain as much knowledge as possible. After serving seven years, Malcolm was released from prison. Upon leaving prison, Malcolm began to work closely with Muhammad, recruit ing new members and educating the black community about the black community’s current situa tion. One of the points Malcolm stressed was that black people had been maneuvered into a position of prostitution by the white man. He also pointed out that if Blacks were in complete charge of the community in which they lived, they would be in a power position to determine where the black race was going. This brought on Malcolm’s philosophy of black na tionalism through separation. Movement Approaches It’s important to include thatKing also served time in jail. Recommit ted the crime of demonstrating on public property. King held many demonstrative movements such as sit-ins, public petitions and marches, most of which were attacked by white onlookers. But this violence was not returned by King nor his followers. King followed closely with the teachings of G andhi, who promoted nonviolence and love in return for hate. One of the most important speeches King ever gave was his "I Have a Dream" speech given dur ing the march on Washington. King’s speech stressed his beliefs in the American dream and hope for integration in the future. He spoke of the beauty he found in the Dec laration of Independence and in other documents that captured the ideas of American freedom. All ofthis disillusioned Malcolm. Malcolm not only rejected the idea of integration, but healso disagreed with King’s method of taking ac tion. In Tact, Malcolm’s criticism became harsh when he called King a "chump” for using kids as demon strators, a "clown"Tor marching on Washington (which was controlled by whites) and a “traitor to his race" for advocating nonviolence, espe cially when blacks were being at tacked at any given time and were receiving no protection from any one. Malcolm viewed nonviolence as an “Uncle Tom” mentality. He viewed retaliation not as violence but as intelligence. He often spoke of a new generation of black people who were going to demand “free dom or death.- King thought re turning violence with violence was counterproductive, and therefore immoral. Needless to say, the two ideas of these men caused a distinct difference in the types of people who followed them both. King was usually followed by middle-aged to elderly blacks and whites, while Malcolm’s followers tended to be mostly young blacks to blacks in their mid-30s. King was a very eloquent speaker. His words were thought ful, beautiful and true to the heart. His message was so important to history that his birthday was made a national holiday. El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) was an electrifying speaker. His words were hard ones that tapped at the human emotion and were right to the point. But until just recently, he was a hero whose story was sung quietly. I believe botn men are equally important in the history and struggle of African people. They had tne same objec tives, only different ways of reach ing them. Brymn Wdb (Yusef Zahir) is a freshman general studies major and a Diversions contributor. W SHAPE A COMMUNITY SHARE A VISION . VISTA VOLUNTEERS • serve full-time (or one year in low-income communities • help people mobilize to overcome poverty in their neighborhoods • are assigned to local projects in the 50 states. Puerto Rico and Washington. D C • set up projects to reduce hunger and homelessness, organize people to rebuild urban housing, create employment and literacy projects .. and much more • are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, age 18 or older EE-RS RECEIVE • a modest living allowance plus a $95 monthly stipend paid upon completion of service • training before and during service • unique experience and new skills which enhance career ' development • possible determent or partial cancellation of student loans • easier access to federal employment after service THE FEDERAL DOMESTIC VOJJNTEER AGENCY Recruiter on campus GOVERNMENT.. AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES CAREER INFORMATION DAY 1993 THURS, MARCH 4,9:30 AM - 3 PM VJSTA