Martin Luther King v Malcolm X Non-violence v Militant

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Martin Luther King v Malcolm XNon-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).

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Martin Luther King Jr.

• Key facts
• Baptist clergyman.
• 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• Studied at Boston University educated.
• Influenced by the works of the Indian nationalist
  Mohandas K. Ghandi
• Arrested 10 times between 1956 and 1964 whilst
  protesting peacefully.
• Assassinated in 1968, I have seen the promised
  land

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Malcolm (Little) X

• Key facts
• Born Malcolm Little son of a Baptist Minister.
• At the age of 6 his father was murdered by the
  KKK.
• 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.
• In 1952 he took the name Malcolm X and joined a
  black muslim temple in Detroit.
• Early 1960s Malcolm X became the most prominent
  figure of the Nation of Islam.
• Pilgrimage to Mecca, Renounced Elijah Muhammad,
  Left the NOI, Assassinated by 3 men.

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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.

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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.

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.. and how Americas enemies portrayed it.

• A photomontage that appeared in a magazine in
  Soviet (Communist) Russia, showing a lynched
  black man hanging from Americas 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.

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Martin Luther Kings viewpoint on non-violence.

• 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 Ghandis 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.

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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.

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Malcolm Xs 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 dont 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.

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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 others
  ideas?
• Resources
• This powerpoint presentation sources and notes.
• The video clips.
• Textbooks and framework.