Malcolm X: Civil Rights Activist

1008 Words5 Pages
Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1929, and is represented as one of the most unknowingly misunderstood civil rights leaders of all time. Throughout his early life, he was influenced by members of the civil rights movement for his entire life due to of his father’s commitment to the Black Nationalist party as a respected Baptist minister in the area. Malcolm’s early life however, is not as powerfully important as the overall contribution that he made to the lives of African Americans and other ethnic groups throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, and the amount of lives that he touched in the process of his long-winded and relentless campaign for equality and freedom. Malcolm advocated for African Americans everywhere to strive towards…show more content…
One such critic of his work, was the most successful of them all, Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King did not share the same visionary views on the future of the United States, and Martin Luther King was often known to contradict Malcolm X’s work and the accomplishments he had made such as his 193 rally in Harlem, which was one of the largest civil rights rallies in united states history. Malcolm once said “Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom.” (X, Malcolm). Clearly, Malcolm did not hold any negative feelings towards Martin Luther King, and he even sought to aid him in his quest for freedom for all people, regardless of race. Malcolm strived for the fair treatment of all people, and he understood that this could not be achieved by simply relying on his own supportive groups. Instead he also called upon others around him to assist his cause, which was a smart strategy in the long run because it opened up new ways for him to speak to different people with different methods or ideas, and properly decide the best of ways to carry out his mission of justice. This included the followers of Martin Luther King, who he spoke to about the movement and their contribution to it, as well as his own, and the ways that they may wish to proceed with it, and of course the alternatives to Martin Luther King’s methods, which he thought was a…show more content…
His sheer dedication to the era of which The United States was going through its largest change since the civil war, was astounding in many senses and he truly grabbed the heart of a nation, and made it clear to the world that he sought freedom and justice for all, and he was willing to achieve this by any means necessary. Although his time as a monumental figure was short due to his unfortunate death on February 21st, 1965 he still made tremendous changes to the civil rights movement that were felt by thousands across The United States and even gripped the attention of people on an international scale. He is most certainly one of the most misunderstood civil rights leaders of all time, and it is for this reason that he still captivates the attention of people across the globe as the man who strove for equal justice by any means
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