A text-to-world connection that is easily made to Malcolm X is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Both iconic figures of the African-American civil rights movement, these two men share several similarities. Both promoted an idea of peace and toleration, although for Malcolm X, this was an idea that he learned after his conversion to Sunni Islam. Both men were also head religious figures of the time, with King being a Baptist minister and X an active Muslim, face of the Nation of Islam for about 12 years before quitting. With such religious influence, both King and X were able to gain massive support for their ideas from the African-American community, as both also possessed great communication skills. This is seen in King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech and X's autobiography names as one of the most influential books of the century. Lastly, both men also shared a similar fate: assassination by a radical opposer of their beliefs. Thus, it is seen that, as active leaders of the civil rights movement, these men are similar in several ways.
Another text-to-world connection is seen in Mohandas Gandhi, the Indian political leader who opposed British tyranny in their country. Teaching the concept of civil disobedience, or non-violent resistance, Gandhi also promoted an idea of tolerance, and was able to greatly communicate to his audience, increasing his support from the masses. Gandhi, as King and X both were, was also assassinated by one of his opponents, in this case, a Hindu nationalist.
I see the reasoning behind why Mohandas Gandhi and Malcolm X protested against racial injustice, yet I fail to comprehend the assertion that Gandhi used the same civil disobedience mechanisms as Malcolm X to advocate racial equality. Although both endorsed civil disobedience, Gandhi supported non-violence and tolerant behavior, while Malcolm X encouraged the "By any means necessary" philosophy, an extremist outlook in which could potentially advocate violence. In short, Malcolm X is the opposite of Gandhi in actions, not motives.
ReplyDeleteI see the striking similarities between all three. They were all men ahead of their times, yet largely, a product of them. One a note, in addition to what you said about the similarities between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, I think the differences should be noted.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, as you stated, correctly, that Malcolm X eventually reached a similar conclusion to that of King's, the majority of his life, he spent preaching against King. It was only towards the end of the book, and his life, that he began taking on a more tolerant, united effort towards achieving his goals.
For the larger part of his life, Malcolm X believed strongly in "isolationism". He believed black Americans had been attempting to assimilate and win something form the White man for years, and the effort had thus far proven futile. He did not want this to continue, and his speeches echoed his alienated feelings. He believed in the Black man providing for himself, because so long as the White "devil" "helped" the Black man, he would hold a control over him. He saw the African-American "middle-class" as an example of how the White man had controlled his brothers, through his trickery. For that reason, Malcolm X did not even attempt to incorporate his fellow Black American "middle-class) for a large part of his life, because he saw them as even worse than the "white-devils"(at times). Martin Luther King did, and even welcomed Whites to join the effort for equality(through his march for freedom). The big difference is that King held these views from an early part of his life until his death, while Malcolm X only began to reach the surface of tolerance near the end of his life.