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African-American History
Martin and Malcolm, Two 20th Century Giants
by
Dr. Russell L. Adams
 Martin
Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) and Malcolm "X" Little (1925-1965), both
giants of present day African-American history, have entered the American public
mind so deeply that it is impossible to think long about one without evoking
memories of the other. When reviewed together their lives reveal a series of
most illuminating contrasts involving family, class, education, leadership,
public image and social impact. The coincidences associated with their deaths,
however, have formal similarity. Both lived only 39 years. Each died by
assassins' bullets. Yet they live in contemporary memories, Martin by a formal,
national holiday and Malcolm in informal "X's" on the garb of ordinary
folks throughout the nation. These two have shared the same Tee-shirts:
"Martin, Malcolm, Me." Scholars are still producing books about them.
The contrasts in the lives of these men begin with their
births. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born into Atlanta, Georgia's clerical
middle-class. The son of the Reverend Earl Little of Reynolds, Georgia, Malcolm
X, was born in near-poverty in Omaha, Nebraska, and was named Malcolm Little.
King "prepped" Morehouse College at age 15. Malcolm X "prepped
"as a Roxbury, Massachusetts,' hustler at the same age. As adults, Martin
was university trained and Malcolm matriculated in prison. King's mentor was the
renowned Benjamin Elijah Mays, then minister/ president of Morehouse College;
Malcolm's mentor was Elijah Mohammed, founder/leader of the Nation of Islam.
Martin founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 and Malcolm
ruled the Temple between 1953 and 1964. Masters of the podium, these men were
spellbinding orators, Martin specializing in universal moral and spiritual
truths; Malcolm bluntly and brilliantly addressing America's ugliest social and
political realities. Alike in their commitment to full Black liberation, they
dramatically differed in their methods. Whereas Dr. King believed in the
non-violent elimination of racism through moral suasion, Malcolm X, doubting
this, argued that attaining Black liberation was justified "by any means
necessary." The national media highlighted the philosophical differences
between them, Martin racially inclusive and conciliatory; Malcolm a racial
separatist. The August 28, 1963 March on Washington was planned to prod a
reluctant Congress to enact a comprehensive civil rights bill. Of the March
itself Malcolm said although "I don't agree with it, but I am going to be
there, brother, 'cause that's where I belong." He also said that he was
puzzled by Black enthusiasm for a demonstration "run by whites in front of
a statue of a president, who has been dead for a hundred years, and who didn't
like us when he was alive." The March starred Martin Luther King and his
classic statement of faith in the American egalitarian promise as enunciated by
the Founding Fathers.
Martin and Malcolm never shared the
same platform; their only known meeting occurred on March 26, 1964 in
Washington, DC. On February 21, 1965, 11 months after this, Malcolm was
murdered. In a condolence message to his widow, Martin said of him that
"while we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race
problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great
ability to put his finger on the existence and the root of the problem." It
has been said of King himself that his genius was in touching the guilt-laden,
racial paranoid conscience of the nation. Modern mass media amplified the
visions of both men.
In the context of the African-American
liberation struggle, the striking contrasts between these two freedom giants are
but illustrations of the dualism and diversity of America's Black and white
communities. In Martin's case are met the establishment virtues:
exhaustive formal education, deep
religious piety and racially inclusive spiritual kinship, and a
"civilized" and moral response to social problems. In his "I Have
a Dream" speech, he so forcefully projected these virtues that they
instantly sank deep into America's collective mind even as they rose above its
social manners.
Malcolm X's personal life, too,
represented deep American traditions: the ancient "eye for an eye"
conception of justice, the George Washington revolutionary years of "Don't
Tread on Me," and the will, wit and wisdom of the self-taught and
self-directed pragmatic individual. Malcolm's social distance from both Black
and white "mainstreams" enabled him to see America's racial and moral
ills with an unsparing clarity.
We now recognize that these two men
were describing one America, with Martin stressing its principles and Malcolm
underscoring its practices. Their contributions have enabled us to combine their
individual visions into one wholistic view of the struggle, which continues.
Dr. Russell L. Adams is a professor and chair of the
Afro-American Studies Department at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
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