Two Approaches To Civil Rights: Like Oil And Water

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Two Approaches to Revolution: “Like Oil and Water”
What would it be like to have separate drinking fountains and bathrooms depending on the color of your skin? Forty years ago, this social nightmare rang true across America because of the Jim Crow Laws. These laws stated that public facilities must be segregated, which prevented interaction between races. Our country may still be the same if it was not for the works of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. These two men fought to end exploitation, discrimination, and racism making the United States a free nation with equity for all. Yet their methods of bringing about this change differed greatly in principle. Some even compared their approaches to “oil and water.” Despite their differences, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X brought about great social changes in the United States.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. were both respected ministers and established leaders in the African-American community. These men were deeply influenced by their father’s religion and attitude towards whites (Malcolm X 20). Malcolm X emerged from the inner city ghetto, whereas King came from a middle-class family. The difference in their backgrounds caused the two men to act differently and approach the problem of racism in this country with different methods.
King believed that the solution to end segregation in the United States was in nonviolent protests. He was involved in several organizations including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). These organizations were both nonviolent in thought and principle. He stated that in order for something to be done, it must be done in a nonviolent way.
His vivid speeches included words like: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character...