#805 Malcolm X and Black Power

Civil rights activists Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X have a meeting of the minds as they wait for a press conference on 26 March 1964. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
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Opening free write (3-5 minutes):

• Compare and contrast the views of King and Malcolm X. If you were a teenager in the 1960s, which viewpoint would you have found more convincing? Which view do you find convincing today? Explain both responses and why they are consistent or different.​

​Historical context:

• An articulate public speaker, Malcolm X expressed the frustration and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1965.
• Malcolm X advocated the separation of black and white Americans and rejected the civil rights movement for its emphasis on integration. Instead, he called on black Americans to engage in a more militant form of struggle: Black Power.
• Black Power viewed the black community in terms similar to colonized peoples in other parts of the world, and similarly sought to advance a struggle for self-determination and affirmation of cultural characteristics that had been denigrated by white culture.
• Black Power was expressed in new militant organizations like the Black Panther Party, which engaged in armed defense against what they viewed as assaults by white police officers and also in community support services like health clinics and schools.

Excerpts from Malcolm X speeches on self-defense

Comparing ​Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, discuss first in pairs then as a class:

• Which are the most powerful phrases in the speech? Identify one passage to share with the class and explain why you find it powerful.
• Why does Malcolm X say that he is not “anti-white”?
• Why does Malcolm X say that he does not consider himself an American?
• What does Malcolm X mean when he says “Sitting at the table doesn’t make you a diner, unless you eat some of what’s on that plate”?
• Malcolm X says not to “go out and get violent.” Yet, he then says violence is allowable. Why?
• Revisit the question from our last lesson: In what ways are King’s and Malcolm X’s ideas relevant today?
• Do you detect connections between Douglass’ speech “What to the slave is the 4th of July”?

In the last 5 minutes of class, we’ll return to our initial question:

• Compare and contrast the views of King and Malcolm X. If you were a teenager in the 1960s, which viewpoint would you have found more convincing? Which view do you find convincing today? Explain both responses and why they are consistent or different.
• Would anyone like to share some of their reflection/ writing on his question?
• Did anyone's thoughts change over the course of the discussion?