OPPapers.com

Martin Luther King And Malcolm X

When people hear the word Civil Rights Movement, two
men automatically come to their minds, Martin Luther King
Jr. and Malcolm X. While both these men had very
different views and ideas, they also shared similarities. Part
of the reason for their different views was because one was
in the South and the other was in the North. Martin saw a
Dream that could be fulfilled in the South and Malcolm saw
a Nightmare, which would never end in the North. Martin
and Malcolm were raised in very different homes. Martin
Luther King Jr. grew up in Atlanta; his family status was
that of the middle class, he never experienced poverty or
hunger like Malcolm did. Martin was raised in a loving and
supporting environment. His parents instilled in him the
importance of self-respect and self-help. They taught
Martin and his other siblings that they could make
something out of their lives despite the fact that the color of
their skin was black. Martin's father was a prominent
preacher for the Ebenezer Baptist Church. His mother was
a member of the choir. Family and church were a big part
of Martin's childhood, and influenced his adult life and they
way he chose to lead it. Unlike Martin's supportive family,
Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X, grew up in a
home that never knew what it meant to be in the middle
class; Malcolm's family grew up in the ghettos of the North.
His parents never taught their children to love themselves
and be proud of who they were, because they themselves
had lost their self-respect. Malcolm's parents were very
abusive to their children and to each other, making the
home environment just as volatile as the surroundings
outside. Malcolm's parents were big supporters of Marcus
Garvey's teachings. His father was the president of the
Omaha branch of the UNIA, which was started by Garvey,
and his mother was the reporter for the meetings. Not only
were their religious backgrounds different and their social
class standings...