Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both great leaders in the civil rights movement. They each used their own methods to try and bring an end to the racial violence and inequality that was so prevalent in their time. Each one seemed to be greatly influenced by their childhood which became evident later in beliefs and methods for achieving their goals.

Born Michael King Jr. in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929, he later changed his name to Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of the father of the Protestant movement, Martin Luther. King’s father was a Baptist minister and his mother a schoolteacher. He attended college and received a PhD in Systematic Theology, and worked as a Pastor in Montgomery, AL. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott and fathered four children.

While living in Montgomery he organized a boycott against the segregated public transportation system, which after a year was successful. His philosophy of nonviolence in seeking social change won him vast amounts of support amongst the white community. In 1963 he delivered his famous “I have a dream speech”, and was awarded Time Magazine’s Man of the Year, and the following year was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest man in history to receive the award. While on a trip to Memphis, TN to gather support for a garbage collector strike, King was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel by James Earl Ray. His ceaseless efforts to bring about change were finally recognized by our country and he now has a holiday in his honor.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in May 19, 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska. While still a child his family was forced to leave their home because of intimidation from the Ku Klux Klan. Not too long after his father, a reverend was killed allegedly by members of a white supremacist group. His mother moved him to Harlem where as a teen he started using drugs and was later arrested and imprisoned for burglary.

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