Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X Civil

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 selfdependence • Preached force and violence “by any means necessary”

Childhood Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X • 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 Ph. D. In Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955, age of 26 • 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

• Dec. 1963 - Suspended for comments made regarding death of John F. Kennedy • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Szu. O Oshpdd. M • 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. youtub e. com/watch? v= n. Fcbp. GK 9_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. yout ube. com/watch? v =98 kpj. N 6 nl 0&feature= related