In the modern United States of America, all people of all races are to be treated equally under the eyes of the law. There are no “separate but equal” schools, water fountains are not race specific, and anyone is allowed to sit wherever they want on the bus, no matter the color of their skin. Although these things seem obvious today this is not how America always was. These dramatic changes to our society came about in the mid-nineteenth century during the civil rights movement. This peaceful movement consisted of many famous marches, boycotts, and speeches. However, the most important, and influential, element of this movement were the civil rights activists. These people were articulate, strong willed, and empowering leaders that inspired
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He became involved with crime on the streets of Boston, and began to sell drugs and live a flamboyant life of nightclubs and expensive clothes. In order to finance his extravagant new lifestyle, Malcolm became more and more entangled with the illegal activities he was a part of. He was finally caught for his illicit street crimes and arrested on charges of larceny, and sentenced to eight to ten years in prison (FBI, 100-399321 Sect. 1). During his time in prison Malcolm devoured the books in the prison library. These books inspired many of Malcolm’s future protests and the central theory he had for the civil rights movement, the belief that only blacks can cure what injury and unfairness had been inflicted upon them by the white man. Also while he was incarcerated, several siblings who had adopted the Nation of Islam as their religion visited him. The Nation of Islam is a group of African Americans who embrace the concept of Black Nationalism, which is the idea that blacks should have their own separate state from whites. The group believes that this would better secure the freedom, equality, and human rights of African Americans. These visitors had a profound impact on Malcolm, he began to follow Nation of Islam while in prison and adopted the last name “X” to represent his lost tribal …show more content…
One distinct contrast that set Malcolm apart from the famous Martin Luther King Jr., was his disbelief in the concept of a “peaceful revolution”. While the two men shared many qualities, and were fighting the same battle, Dr. King triumphed the belief that a non-violent protest would better secure the civil rights of blacks. Malcolm, on the other hand, denied that this was possible and blazoned “We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary... we want it now or we don't think anybody should have it.” (X, 1964). Although many disagreed with him, Malcolm was undeterred by the lack of support from King and his followers. He continued to push his message of responding to violence with violence. In one of Malcolm’s most famous and most provocative speeches, he reaches out to African Americans and unites them based on the “common enemy” (the white man). This speech, “Message To Grassroots”, discusses the Bandung meeting (a meeting of twenty-nine different asian and african nations in 1955), he calls on this meeting to illustrate how the lack of the white man allowed for peace and prosperity to be the main goal. One quote in particular highlights this
He became involved with crime on the streets of Boston, and began to sell drugs and live a flamboyant life of nightclubs and expensive clothes. In order to finance his extravagant new lifestyle, Malcolm became more and more entangled with the illegal activities he was a part of. He was finally caught for his illicit street crimes and arrested on charges of larceny, and sentenced to eight to ten years in prison (FBI, 100-399321 Sect. 1). During his time in prison Malcolm devoured the books in the prison library. These books inspired many of Malcolm’s future protests and the central theory he had for the civil rights movement, the belief that only blacks can cure what injury and unfairness had been inflicted upon them by the white man. Also while he was incarcerated, several siblings who had adopted the Nation of Islam as their religion visited him. The Nation of Islam is a group of African Americans who embrace the concept of Black Nationalism, which is the idea that blacks should have their own separate state from whites. The group believes that this would better secure the freedom, equality, and human rights of African Americans. These visitors had a profound impact on Malcolm, he began to follow Nation of Islam while in prison and adopted the last name “X” to represent his lost tribal …show more content…
One distinct contrast that set Malcolm apart from the famous Martin Luther King Jr., was his disbelief in the concept of a “peaceful revolution”. While the two men shared many qualities, and were fighting the same battle, Dr. King triumphed the belief that a non-violent protest would better secure the civil rights of blacks. Malcolm, on the other hand, denied that this was possible and blazoned “We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary... we want it now or we don't think anybody should have it.” (X, 1964). Although many disagreed with him, Malcolm was undeterred by the lack of support from King and his followers. He continued to push his message of responding to violence with violence. In one of Malcolm’s most famous and most provocative speeches, he reaches out to African Americans and unites them based on the “common enemy” (the white man). This speech, “Message To Grassroots”, discusses the Bandung meeting (a meeting of twenty-nine different asian and african nations in 1955), he calls on this meeting to illustrate how the lack of the white man allowed for peace and prosperity to be the main goal. One quote in particular highlights this