Summary Of Martin & Malcolm & Americ A Dream Or A Nightmare

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In the book, Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream Or a Nightmare, it talks about the relationship of Martin Luther King's and Malcolm X's ideas and how they made an impact on American society. The book describes their thoughts and ideas about America life either as a "dream" or a "nightmare." When it comes to violence, Martin and Malcolm have different opinions about it. Their religion also differs as well. Martin was a Christian and Malcolm X was a Muslim. Many people thought these two were rivals but actually supported one another. The author, James Cone, first goes in depth on the personal backgrounds of the two men before explaining what they meant to America. In 1964, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King had a meeting in which was mainly about…show more content…
He always wanted to tell the truth about the relationships between blacks and whites in the United States and the world. Unlike Martin, he did not have a high education and came from the lower class. He did not approve of integration and wanted to declare the truth on his blackness against his American identity. Malcolm saw American society from the perspective of separatism. Not liking the ideas at the march in Washington, Malcolm mentioned that “while King was having a dream, the rest of us Negroes are having a nightmare." In chapter two, the author discussed how the religious background of Malcolm shaped his ideas and theories. He explained the reasons why it was not difficult for Malcolm to obtain Muslim beliefs. He also mentioned that the Muslim beliefs, which were taught by Elijah Muhammad, had evolved around the ideas that African-Americans were the chosen race of God. It also evolved around how whites were the enemies that would later be destroyed. From Malcolm’s experiences, Cone discussed that these were the ideas that he supported and believed. He determined that Malcolm's strong beliefs in his faith are what lead him to become a nationalist and…show more content…
The formation of black resistance among Southern blacks, the development of Black Nationalism, and the picture of "North" and "South" and the part of black individuals in that relationship were the three ideas. The people of the “North” were seen as free and the people of the “South” were seen as not free. Martin and numerous blacks saw themselves in Old Testament terms in the South. Around the antebellum era, the South was viewed as Jews in Egypt, who went through misery and the North was viewed as Canaan, who wanted to escape. Southern states subdued blacks fiercely for quite a long time; in 1954, when school discrimination was finished, the North's energy was presented in Martin's brain. Many blacks wanted to cease southern brutality and develop the ideas of liberal democracy so blacks could become fearless. The lynching of Emmett Till symbolized the South and the Supreme Court decision in 1954 symbolized the

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