Malcolm X
The Struggle for Human Rights
Emmett Till, before and after a mob lynched him.[6]
Civil Rights in America
"The thin disguise of "equal" accommodations for passengers in railroad coaches will not mislead anyone, nor atone for the wrong this day done...." [5]
-John Marshall Harlan, Plessy v. Ferguson
In America people of African descent faced segregation under the judicial act of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). This Supreme Court ruling said blacks were given “separate but equal” facilities.
Far from being equal, public structures, such as restaurants, bathrooms, and schools were down-graded as compared to their white counterparts. This changed with the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
"We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place."[4]
-Earl Warren, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
Lynching, which was continually practiced in the south, devastated black communities. Prominent among the lynched was fourteen year old Emmett Till, who was lynched in Mississippi.
" ...let the people see what I have seen. I think everybody needs to know what happened to Emmett Till."[7]
-Mother of Emmett Till
-Malcolm X speaking about Black Nationalism
[2]
Black Power vs. Civil Disobedience
"Black Power means ... separatism"[8]
-Roy Wilkins, N.A.A.C.P.
Civil Disobedience, advocated by Martin Luther King, is the refusal to fight back when one is harassed or attacked in an attempt for equality. This is reminiscent of the Montgomery bus boycotts and Rosa Park's refusal to give up her seat. The alternative to this is Black Power, which is the social, political, and economical movement for black superiority. This idea was preached not only by Malcolm X, but by others such as Stokely Carmichael, who created the Black Panthers. Malcolm and King appealed to different demographics and regions due to their methods.
"Dr. King's model does not achieve the same success in channeling the rage of today's African American youth in a positive direction"[9]
-William W. Sales, From Civil Rights to Black Liberation
This article, published in the Saturday Evening Post, defines the emerging Black Power Movement and cites several active leaders. [8]
“Martin King was revered in the South, respected in the North, but-even then-the streets of Harlem were not the platform for an advocate of nonviolence.”[10]
-Louis E. Lomax, To Kill a Black Man
"We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence."[11]
-Martin Luther King, Jr., The American Pageant
VS.
"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary."[12]
-Malcolm X
A graph showing lynchings and racially motivated murders in each decade from 1865 to 1965.[13]
Malcolm X meeting with several Civil rights leaders in 1964. Left to right, Lawrence Landry, Gloria Richardson, Comedian Dick Gregory, Malcolm X, and Stanley Branche.[1]