Malcolm X: Friend or Foe of MLK?

    When people think about the civil rights movement, they think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his belief that non-violence was the way to get justice for African-Americans.  In addition, Martin Luther King believed that integration was the path to equality. 

     But not all of the African-American leaders of that time believed in these two things: non-violence and integration. One of these leaders was Malcolm X.  Malcolm X believed that non-violence was okay if it was working.  If it wasn’t working then violence was the next step.  He also thought that integration was not the answer to equality.  He believed that blacks should come together and make their own society, separate from the white society.  MLK wanted to gain respect and rights within the white society.  Malcolm X wanted them to be independent: to be able to take care of themselves and their families, develop their own African-American businesses, and serve their community. 

     Another main difference between MLK and Malcolm X was religion.  MLK was Christian and Malcolm X was a Muslim.  Malcolm X thought that Christianity was a white man’s religion.  At first, Malcolm was part of the religious group Nation of Islam.  Nation of Islam was an African-American religious group that associated Islam with black pride.  Malcolm then took a pilgrimage to Mecca.  In Mecca, Malcolm saw Muslims of all different races and nationalities.  He also saw that Islam was a religion of peace.  When Malcolm came back, he parted from Nation of Islam.  That was when he was assassinated.  A couple of black Muslims were accused of the shooting. 

      One really interesting thing about Malcolm X was that before he was a famous figure, he was just a guy on the streets, dressing in the style of the time period, trying to get money.  Then, he went to jail.  In jail, he educated himself and that was what formed all his ideas and beliefs.  The person who came out of jail was the Malcolm X that we know.
     It was Martin Luther King’s non-violence and integration beliefs that worked, and we are glad for what he did. It does mean that blacks no longer are independent from the greater society, though. They do not have many of their own businesses and institutions anymore.