2. BACKGROUND:
Born: January 15, 1929 Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Died: April 4, 1968 (Aged 39), Memphis, Tennessee,
United States.
Being close friends with the second big G, Ghandi, as
well as relationships with the Quaker group, this
influenced his non-violent movements.
To remain an objective outlook, and be conscious of all
political parties, he did not endorse a US political party
or candidate.
3. IDEOLOGY
He argued that black Americans, as well as other
disadvantaged Americans, should be
compensated for historical wrongs – via payment
of $50 billion.
He believed that his actions were within the
teachings of Christianity. “I just want to do God‟s
will”.
4. BUS INCIDENT
In March 1955, a fifteen-year-old school girl in
Montgomery, Claudette Colvin, refused to give up her
bus seat to a white man. King was on the committee
from the Birmingham African-American community
that looked into the case; because Colvin was
pregnant and unmarried, E.D. Nixon and Clifford
Durr decided to wait for a better case to pursue.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for
refusing to give up her seat. The Montgomery Bus
Boycott, urged and planned by Nixon and led by King,
soon followed. The boycott lasted for 385 days, and
the situation became so tense that King's house was
bombed. King was arrested during this campaign,
which ended with a United States District Court
ruling in Browder v. Gayle that ended racial
segregation on all Montgomery public buses.
5. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
At the White House on November 2, 1983,
President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a
federal holiday to honour King.
It began on the 20th January, 1986 and is an
annual holiday on the third Monday of January.
On January 17th, 2000, Martin Luther King Jr.
Day was officially recognised in all fifty U.S.
States.
7. EARLIER LIFE
Malcolm X or „Malcolm Little‟ was born May 19th
1925 in Omaha Nebraska.
When Malcolm was 6 his father, a Baptist minister
was killed by a streetcar although many, including
Malcolm, believe that his death involved the Ku
Klux Klan.
Malcolm did not excel in Junior school. He dropped
out after a white teacher told him that his academic
goal was “unrealistic” for a black person.
Malcolm X was poorly treated by white people in
early years, potentially driving his later ideas of
black supremacy.
8. RELIGION
On April 13th 1964 Malcolm left the US on a
personal journey through the Middle-East and
West Africa.
He accomplished a pilgrimage to Mecca and
converted from Christianity to Muslim.
He said that seeing Muslims of “All colours,
from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned
Africans", interacting as equals led him to see
Islam as a means by which racial problems
could be overcome.
9. CONNECTION WITH THE BLACK
PANTHERS
The black panthers used Malcolm X‟s
philosophy as an inspiration for gaining
freedom.
The founders of the Black panthers, Huey
P. Newton and Bobby Seale, were both
strong supporters of Malcolm and agreed
with his views on racial inequality and
black supremacy.
Bobby Seale later wrote that Malcolm X
was “A better speaker than even Martin
Luther King”
10. DEATH
Malcolm was assassinated by 3 of his
Islamic „followers‟ on February 21st
1965.
He had 21 gunshot wounds, and was
shot just before giving a lecture at
Organization of Afro-American Unity
in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom.
11. DIFFERENCES
Dr. King was a pacifist influenced by Gandhi, he
wished for racial-equality. This opposed Malcolm
X‟s approach to achieving black supremacy
through violent methods.
It is a common misconception that Dr. King
fought solely for equal rights, however this is
only partly true as he also fought for
compensation for African-Americans and other
disadvantaged Americans in the form $50 billion.
Malcolm X was a Muslim, Dr. King was a
Christian, although Malcolm was at one time
Christian.
