King Jr

The Clash of the Civil Rights Movement Giants: Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

By: Freya McNeill

When one speaks about the U.S civil rights movement the collocations that often follow is ‘I had a dream’ or the figurehead of the movement Martin Luther King Jr (MLK). He is hailed for his fight for equality for African-Americans from the mid 1950s and his positive impact in the racial struggle- and rightly so, however another figure’s historical legacy does not often share the same amount of limelight. Malcolm X. Sons of Baptist preachers, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both ministers - although for different religions and fought for African-American rights at the same time under FBI surveillance- even being assassinated at the same age. Yet they were different sides of the same coin, Malcolm X (adopting “X” as his last name to reject his slave name) supported Black power, Black separation and wanting freedom by ‘any means necessary’ whereas Martin Luther King Jr supported peaceful protests grounded by Christianity wanting successful integration.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr understandably had different schools of thought because they had contrasting realities which helped to shape their stances in the U.S. Civil rights movements. Malcolm X, who was six when his father was allegedly killed by the Black Legionaries - a white supremist group, grew up in foster homes in the North with his siblings after their mother was sent to a mental hospital. He then dropped out after eighth grade (year 9) and by 21 was in jail for larceny. In comparison Martin Luther King Jr. had a much more stable childhood who grew up in the South (Atlanta, Georgia) in the Sweet Auburn neighbourhood which at the time was where some of the most prosperous and prominent African Americans lived in the country. Like Malcom he was a gifted student but pursued formal education; while Malcom X was two years into serving his larceny sentence in 1948, Martin had just graduated from Morehouse College (his father’s and maternal grandfather’s alta mata), likely when Malcom X was studying in the jail library.

By looking at the North and South divide, they were likely to have different experiences regarding racism; with the South having less integration than the North, Martin Luther King Jr. called for racial integration to try and establish racial harmony. Whereas, Malcom X, shaped by a more integrated North, still faced racism and saw how deep rooted this issue was in society - as it still is today - and therefore took the view that Black separation was best. Black separation being that thriving Black only communities would control their own economy, politics and society with the opinion that Black people were better off without their white counterparts.

Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr., although the crux of their arguments were polar opposites, slowly drifted towards the middle towards the end of their lives. While Martin Luther King Jr. became more open to the militant approach frustrated by the results of the anti-violence movement, Malcolm X after his Hajj trip in 1964 altered his perspective on racial integration. When going on his Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, he stated ‘in the Muslim World, when one accepts Islam and ceases to be white or Negro, Islam recognizes all men as Men because the people here in Arabia believe that God is One, they believe that all people are also One’ . This pilgrimage helped Malcom X to re-evaluate his perspective about racial integration and therefore decided to reach out to Dr King. It is hard to believe that these two giants of the U.S civil rights movement only met once just months prior to Malcolm’s death with the interaction lasting just minutes. If both their assassinations had not taken place, who knows what their collaborative impact could have been on American society, unfortunately we will never know.

Two years after Malcom X’s death MLK’s NBC 1967 interview showed how he thought the original optimism of the civil rights movement was flawed and that his dream had turned into a ‘nightmare’ . This piece of the puzzle arguably fell into obscurity when putting together the legacy of the civil rights movement. Certainly public perception has rendered Dr King as a heroic optimist who never faltered in the face of bigotry sticking to his non-violent Christian values - this nearing the end of his life was not the case. Legacy is someone’s lasting impact on the world, how people remember

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them and in regard to MLK especially in Black History Month is the figure who is remembered and praised again and again for his efforts in the civil rights movement. But why not Malcom X? It is important to understand that Malcom X’s hard stances on Black separation and willingness to accept violence as a means of protesting is a hard pill to swallow for white people - even by progressives since oppressors are usually the writers of History he is often cast to the side-lines. It is more comfortable to discuss a Black man who only condoned non-violent practises. The racist stereotype of a Black man being violent and criminal can easily be quashed with the image of Martin Luther King Jr. but introducing Malcom X into the picture forces people to confront this negative stereotype creating a more nuanced picture - one that cannot be tackled with the typical superficial conversations about race.

It is important to recognise how the narrative of Black History is constructed in favour of peaceful Black resistance largely due to the mainstream discussion of race being more tailored to be palatable to the white demographic. So considering this, I invite you to re-evaluate what you know about Black History. Never forget the impact of all the diverse factions of the civil rights movements and the significance of Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. who they were and what the world never got to see - who they could have been together.