Martin & Malcolm & America

Martin and Malcolm in America

Killah

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Author Note

Answers to Questions: A-1 and

Martin and Malcolm in America

Question 1

Malcolm X and Dr. King agreed that African-American needed a united front to confront racism and fight for their rights. However, this united front never materialized. Based on Cone's work, explain why the united front never occurred.

Answer

Although both Malcolm X and Dr. King shared a lot of similar goals, there were numerous differences when it came to the basic tenants of their political struggles for the African-Americans. These differences were the core reasons the envisioned “United Front” never materialized. Malcolm X believed that the African-Americans needed to adopt aggressive policies when it came to their constitutional rights as citizens of the US. In summation, Malcolm X was the proponent of the core teachings of "moral principles of self-defense, power, and retaliation. Dr. Martin Luther King, on the other hand, was the preacher of nonviolent resistance for the rights of the African-Americans of the US. Another major difference was the visions of the future of the African-American when the success of the struggle would materialize and relations would be established between both whites and blacks. Dr. King wanted integration with the whites. He believed that racism would be completely eradicated after the success of their struggle and both races would learn to live in harmony. Malcolm X believed that Dr. King's view was utopian and idealist. He believed that the whites will fight tooth and nail to maintain their grip on authority.

While the views of Dr. King portray the way of non-violence and also viewed him as weak in the minds of his fellow African-Americans, his method was more effective than that of Malcolm X. King had the power that resided in the principles he preached about. His ideology embodied universal principles of love and acceptance such that it would be adapted to a variety of courses against oppression.

Question 2

Dr. Cone stated in his work that the majority of Americans, including those of African descent, responded much more favorably to the words and actions of Dr. King than to Malcolm X. Describe what was so different in King's and Malcolm's approaches and messages that brought this about.

Answer

Dr. King's approaches were more favored by the African-Americans than those of Malcolm X. For one, his views were more realistic and achievable. The violent ways proposed by Malcolm X were bound to create a series of conflicts that would not have been resolved for many years to come. True, the ultimate aim would be harmony, but this harmony could be for nothing if vicious acts were to be committed against them. There, we can ultimately say that second option would be more rational, though it may not be considered effective as the first. In the circumstances that they were in, nonaggressive acts would be able to achieve more effectively as the African-American do warrant all the rights the rest of the Americans have because we are all the same humans inside and can act in a civic matter to fight for we believe in even when faced with aggression against them. Second point that favors Dr King is his ideas of integration. This was more advantageous because fully segregating two races entirely would be almost unachievable, and separation like this is certain to cause grave complications, much like those that previously occurred during the civil war. Now the amalgamation of society was much more believable because there have been progressive measures toward this. True, there still long way to go, but this how the humanity is going about this concept, making it almost certain to perfect what had previously been happening, rather than started anew.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Cone, J. H. (2012). Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare 20th Anniversary Edition. Orbis Books.