Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X

Civil Rights Activists

Basic Views of Martin Luther King, Jr.

•Preached the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi

•Non-violence, least resistance

•Believed in equality of the races; unity of all people

“The time is always right to do what is right.” – MLK, Jr.

Basic Views of Malcolm X

•Rejected both integration and racial equality

•Called for separation, black pride and self- dependence

•Preached force and violence

“by any means necessary”

Childhood

Martin Luther King, Jr.• Born – Michael Luther

King, Jr. on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, GA

• Booker T. Washington High School

• Early admission to Morehouse College in 1944 at age 15

• Received his PhD. In Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955, age of 26

Malcolm X• Born – Malcolm Little on

May 19, 1925 in Omaha, NE• Grew up in Lansing, MI after

family home burned by KKK• Father murdered in 1931• Mother put into a mental

hospital in 1939• Spent youth in detention

homes• Moved in with sister in

Boston

Timeline for Malcolm X

1946 – arrested and imprisoned for burglary in MA; embraces ideas of Black Muslim faith (Nation of Islam) and converts

• Read and copied dictionary; read extensively• Released in 1952; takes name Malcolm X to rid

himself of his slave name• Meets Elijah Muhammad, the current leader of the

Black Muslims• Malcolm X becomes their most popular speaker

Video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Encg20dlhHQ&feature=related

• Dec. 1963 - Suspended for comments made regarding death of John F. Kennedy

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzuOOshpddM

• March, 1964 – Malcolm X leaves Nation of Islam, starts Muslim Mosque, Inc.

• Malcolm X makes holy pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca (western city in Saudi Arabia)

• Realizes Muslims are all races; united by common beliefs

Assassination of Malcolm X

• February 21, 1965 – Malcolm X is killed at a rally in New York City; three Black Muslims are convicted for the murder

Timeline for Martin Luther King, Jr.

1955 – elected president of Montgomery Improvement Association – helped with the bus boycott

Arrested in Alabama

• April, 1963 – arrested for protesting. Wrote about his concerns and criticized the pace of justice of civil rights for Black Americans in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

“I Have a Dream”

• August 28, 1963 – after meeting with President John F. Kennedy, King delivers the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an estimated 250,000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw

King earns the Nobel Peace Prize

• 1964 – for his efforts; prize money ($54,600) turned over to further the movement

Assassination of King

• April 4, 1968 – on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN

• Killed by James Earl Ray

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98k-pjN6nl0&feature=related