The Civil Rights Movement briefly touched upon

Since we've been talking in class about the civil rights movements and African-American culture so much, it's been on my mind. The Letter from Birmingham Jail certainly expanded these thoughts.



This summer I had the opportunity to take a class in Washington D.C. on American history and politics that focused largely on civil rights. As expected, the texts for the class included essays and speeches like The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcom X, the famed I have a Dream by Dr. King, and many others. The final exam for this test involved an essay section. One of the possible essays was "According to Martin Luther King, what are the goals of the civil rights movement and why do they justify non-violent civil disobedience? What is Malcolm X's criticism of King's goal and his approach?" This was an excellent essay question, but I don't recall if I actually answered this one. In any case, I think it is important to understand the relationship between Malcolm X and MLK.

The two men disagreed over the idea of integration. In King's mind it was important to integrate the negro race into society and not just desegregate. King claimed that civil institutions and legislation could only break down racial barriers so far. Cities and states could choose to desegrate and therefore whites and blacks would be using many of the same facilities and such, but this did not mean the races would get along or love each other. The white American was apathetic to the civil rights cause. Most didn't care whether things were desegrated or segregated. King made the call to sensitize the white man to understand that de jure desegregation wouldn't be enough. It needed to be de facto, or through natural means--"color blindness." Integration would mean that blacks and whites weren't just putting up with each other, but actually interacting socially with each other for personal enjoyment rather than state order. King hoped to achieve this by positive action and encouraging whites and blacks alike to welcome each other through community involvement and good character.

Malcolm X on the other hand was not so happy a singer of Kum-bay-ah. He said that civil rights and the argument over integration came down to two things: the ballot, or the bullet. As it sounds, this was the idea that blacks would gain rights either through civil action or they would eventually take them by force. Black Nationalism was Malcolm X's argument against integration. He felt that black and white could never live together in true harmony and therefore they shouldn't try to do so. X didn't even consider himself American, he considered himself a Negro. In this idea, the government was nothing more than a conspiracy to retard the Negro. X doesn't condemn non-violence either, but instead says that "I'm non-violent with those who are non-violent with me." Black Nationalism required the creation of black communities that did not deal with white society. For some time, these communities thrived culturally. However, their economies were lacking and underground activity, particularly drugs, began to ruin them. While Malcolm X wasn't intending to be violent, he was certainly radical and willing to attain rights through any means in a Machiavellian manner.

History tells us that MLK won this argument, but perhaps we can learn from the seperatism of Malcolm X. Also, reading essays and speeches of both these men give us examples of some of the best rhetoric on the most fiery topic of the 20th century. If you don't know much about the civil rights movement I pity you. If you think you do, look deeper because there is SO much to learn from it.