Malcolm X AKA El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz

Malcolm X - A true revolutionary?


=====================================================
During his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar to one of the most prominent black nationalist leaders in the United States; he was considered by some as a martyr of Islam and a champion of equality. As a militant leader, Malcolm X advocated black pride, economic self-reliance, and identity politics. He ultimately rose to become a world-renowned African American/Pan-Africanist and human rights activist.
=================================================
- Wikipedia

 

Martin Luther King Jr. was a true revolutionary, not Malcolm X.

 

I suppose that I don't know enough about Malcolm X to comment. MLK's contributions are quite obviously the better known of the two.

 

MLK promoted understanding and equality between races. He actually wanted peace. Malcom X promoted racism in the black community because he felt that racism from whites made it necessary. MLK understood that two wrongs don't make a right, and the world is a better place because of that. Malcom X never seemed to grasp that concept.

 

Couldn't have said it better.

 

This oversimplification is only partially true. Malcolm X supported self-defense, not violence against whites. Though at the same time he also supported separation of races, because he didn't think that whites would ever treat blacks equally, which is why Malcolm supported the Pan-African movement for blacks to return to Africa, their birth land.

In my opinion nonviolent resistance and black nationalist movement both contributed to success of civil-rights movement. While MLK's non-violent resistance gave the country a peaceful resolution to the conflict the militant movement of black nationalism served as a stark example of what would occur if peaceful resolution is not achieved.

Also Malcolm X changed his views of whites somewhat after he made his trip to Mecca realizing that whites or anyone else who supported civil rights for blacks or for others shouldn't be rejected. I'm not sure if he changed his stance on whether blacks would be treated with greater respect in white society and that returning to Africa wasn't necessary anymore after that.

Though if I remember correctly he had bigger problems at that point, since his church turned against him for criticizing Elijah Mohamed.

 

To be fair, he was gradually becoming more moderate by the time he was assassinated.

 

Which is the reason he was assassinated, unless I'm much mistaken.

 

Right on. He was still an anti-MLK.