The Civil Rights Movement: Malcolm X And The Black Lives Matter Movement

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Humans are a diverse species, typically comfortable with expressing their opposition or disapproval in various ways: one of the the most popular methods would be to create or participate in a movement. America's history is littered with oppression, discrimination, and abuse of power that still occurs today. Therefore, movements originating from America are usually retaliating against the aforementioned. For example, Malcolm X envisioned a country where African-Americans could find peace and prosperity in the midst of struggle. Similarly, the Black Lives Matter movement advocates for African-American lives and protests against police brutality and other injustices. However, differences in leadership impacted many aspects of the movements, each…show more content…
Malcolm X was the leader of his own organization, and while he partook in the Civil Rights Movement, he always worked independent from other non-violent leaders. Malcolm X’s philosophy developed much over the years, and ultimately advocated Pan-Africanism through his organization (Douglas Allen). On the other hand, the Black Lives Matter movement is composed of multiple members, each of which is considered a leader. Unlike Malcolm X, who was only able to oppose one issue, Black Lives Matter have been able to “push for 10 specific reforms” without worrying about spreading themselves thin (Conor Friedersdorf). To expand, Black Lives Matter is a collection of groups with different philosophies. This brings awareness to numerous issues while simultaneously, allowing for a sense of urgency to arise and for solutions to be proposed faster. A major aim of every movement is to bring awareness to their bleak situations to gain sympathy. Black Lives Matter succeeds in a way Malcolm X…show more content…
Founder Malcolm X held more authority and influence over crucial decisions compared to the members of Black Lives Matter, causing less internal conflict and efficient execution. For example, no representative could come forth fast enough to deny that the Baton Rouge Shooter was associated with them, and that they disapproved of his actions (John Blake). The reason is that, even if an individual member of the Black Lives Matter movement voices his beliefs, those same beliefs won’t be shared by all of his peers. Thus, conflicts will arise that will take far too long to resolve. On the other hand, Malcolm X simply needs to send a member on his behalf to the media and censure the Baton Rouge Shooter, albeit he certainly would have approved of the Baton Rouge Shooter’s
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