Martin Luther King v Malcolm X Non-violence v Militant If you were a black American during the 1960s campaign for Civil Rights – what kind of action do.

Martin Luther King v Malcolm X

Non-violence v Militant

If you were a black American during the 1960s campaign for Civil Rights – what kind of action do you think black Americans should have taken to change things? (Make a brief note in your note-book).

Martin Luther King Jr.Key facts

1. Baptist clergyman. 2. 1964 Nobel Peace Prize

winner.3. Studied at Boston

University – educated.4. Influenced by the works

of the Indian nationalist Mohandas K. Ghandi

5. Arrested 10 times between 1956 and 1964 whilst protesting peacefully.

6. Assassinated in 1968, “I have seen the promised land”

Malcolm (Little) XKey facts

1. Born Malcolm Little – son of a Baptist Minister.

2. At the age of 6 his father was murdered by the KKK.

3. Left school at 16 – drifted into crime. 1946 – sentenced to imprisonment for burglary. While in prison he became interested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammad – the leader of the Black Muslims, also called the Nation of Islam.

4. In 1952 he took the name Malcolm X and joined a black muslim temple in Detroit.

5. Early 1960s Malcolm X became the most prominent figure of the Nation of Islam.

6. Pilgrimage to Mecca, Renounced Elijah Muhammad, Left the NOI, Assassinated by 3 men.

Black Panthers

• These were a political organization in the US, founded in Oakland, California, in 1966 by Bobby G. Seale (pictured) and Huey P. Newton.

• Originally a kind of community action club for the self-defense of black people, the Panthers urged blacks to arm themselves.

• They first attracted attention in May 1967, when they invaded the California State parliament to protest a gun-control bill.

• The party subsequently supported armed rebellion if necessary to achieve its goals. At its peak in 1967-68, membership may have been as large as 5000.

What the world saw ….

Fire hoses being used against protestors in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. The water pressure was so powerful that it could knock bricks out of walls.

.. and how America’s enemies portrayed it.

A photomontage that appeared in a magazine in Soviet (Communist) Russia, showing a lynched black man hanging from America’s symbol of freedom the “Statue of Liberty”. It is attempting to say that America says one thing, but does another. The US Constitution said that “all men are free and equal”! Some clearly were not.

Martin Luther King’s viewpoint on non-violence.

1. “Privileged groups rarely give up their privileges without strong resistance … How do you struggle against the forces of injustice? … The alternative to violence is non violent resistance. The non-violent resister must often express his protest through non co-operation and boycotts. These are a way to awaken a moral shame in the opponent.” Christian Century Magazine 1957. In short Martin Luther King argues that non violent protest shames the oppressor. King was fond of Ghandi’s saying “through our pain we shall make them see their injustice”.

2. “Violence, even in self defence creates more problems than it solves. Only a refusal to hate or kill can put an end to the chain of violence in the world.” Ebony Magazine 1966.

Martin Luther King continued.3.“The non violent resister does not seek to humiliate or

defeat the opponent but to win his friendship and understanding.” Speech 1957.

4.”Non violent direct action enabled the negro to take to the streets in active protest, but muzzled the guns of the oppressor because not even he could not shoot down in daylight unarmed men, women and children. This is the reason why there was less loss of life in 10 years of Southern protest than in 10 days of Northern riots.” Look Magazine 1968.

5.”We are forcing our oppressor to commit his brutality openly – in the light of day – with the rest of the world looking on…” MLK commenting on his tactics in Birmingham, Alabama 1963.

Malcolm X’s viewpoint on violence.

1.“The white man pays the Reverend Martin Luther King … so that he can teach the Negroes to be defenceless - that is what you mean by non-violent - be defenceless in face of one of the most cruel beasts that has ever taken people into captivity.” Television interview in 1963.

2.“I don’t go along with any kind of non-violence unless everybody is going to be non-violent. If they make the Ku Klux Klan non-violent, then I will be non-violent.” Speech - November 1964.

3.“It (non violence) would be like putting handcuffs on me and putting me in the ring and telling me to fight Cassius Clay, or Sonny Liston, non-violently … I think people who tell our people to be non-violent are almost agents of the Ku Klux Klan.” Speech - January 1965.

The Conversation.Your task this lesson is to write a conversation that you might imagine would have taken place if Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had met to debate their respective view points with regard to violent and non-violent protest. How would they have explained their cases? What evidence would they have used to support their arguments? What would they have said about each other’s ideas?Resources

1. This powerpoint presentation – sources and notes.

2. The video clips.3. Textbooks and framework.