Martin and Malcolm DBQ

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Martin Luther King

and Malcolm X:
sv

Whose Philosophy Made the Most Sense

for America in the 1960s?

A Document Based Question (DBQ)

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 Martin and Malcolm DBQ
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STUDENT GUIDE SHEET

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X:

Whose Philosophy Made the Most Sense for America in the 1960s?

Directions: In the late 1950s and 1960s two remarkable men, both African-American, both
relatively young, shook the social foundations of America. In this document based exercise sv
you are asked to read a background essay and then examine a series of documents. Finally
you will use the essay and the documents to prepare an answer to the above question.

Steps to follow:
1. Read the Background Essay.
2. Skim through the 9 documents to get a sense of what they are about.

3. Organize the documents by categories. One or more may be a context document

that provides color or feeling.

4. Read the documents slowly. In the margin or on a Document Analysis Sheet

record the main idea of each document.
5. Summarize each man's ideas about each topic or category.

6. For every category, decide which ideas made the most sense for America in the

1960s. You might find that in several categories you agree with parts of both

philosophies.

The Documents:
Document I : Malcolm and Martin Meet
Document 2: King: Dreams of an Integrated Struggle

Document 3: Malcolm X: Working Separately Is Most Effective

Document 4: King: Integrated Schools Must Be the Goal

Document 5: Malcolm X: Separate Schools Liberate Young Minds
Document 6: King: Boycott Is the Way to Open Doors
Document 7 : Malcolm X: Black Nationalism Leads to Economic Liberation
Document 8: King: Violence Murders the Murderer but Not Murder

Document 9: Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary

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Background Essay Martin and Malcolm DBQ
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Martin Luther King and Malcolm X:

Whose Philosophy Made the Most Sense for America in the 1960s?

Introduction King and Malcolm X documents, read the short

On March 26, 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr., biographies that follow.
and Malcolm X met for the first and only time. Malcolm X: Biographical Information
The occasion was a Senate debate on the passage Malcolm X's early life was one of extreme
of the landmark Civil Rights bill. They met in
hardship and poverty. Born on May 19, 1925, sv
the halls of the United States Capitol building
he grew up in Lansing, Michigan, with the
and spoke for only a few minutes. Eyewitness name Malcolm Little, His father, J. Early Little,
reports, as well as photographs of the meeting,
was a preacher and
suggest a respect and warmth between the a follower of
"Our family was so
leaders. Just two weeks before this meeting,
Marcus Garvey,
Malcolm X had shocked America by announcing poor," Malcolm
one of the earliest
his break with Elijah Muhammad and the recalled, "that we
and most influential
Nation of Islam. Now, free of the Black black nationalist
would eat the hole
Muslims' ban on political activity, Malcolm thinkers. His father out ofa doughnut..."
planned to enter the fight for civil rights in died a violent
America. The nation wondered: Would King
death, perhaps because of his political beliefs.
and Malcolm X be able to put aside their His mother, Louise, was left to support eight
philosophical and religious differences to fight children during the worst years of the
for equality and the end of racism? We will Depression. "Our family was so poor," Malcolm
never know. Malcolm was killed eleven months recalled, "that we would eat the hole out of a
after his meeting with Dr. King, and just two
doughnut...."
days before the two were to have met for a
The strain of raising eight hungry children
more formal discussion. He was 39 years old
led Louise Little to a mental breakdown.
when he died; King was also 39 when he was
Malcolm was separated from his siblings and
assassinated three years later.
sent to a series of foster and detention homes.
Many Americans think of King and Although Malcolm was treated decently by his
Malcolm X as perfect opposites. According to white foster-care parents, the Swerlins, and
this view, one leader was a minister who excelled in an all white school (he was elected
believed in love and non-violent action as forces
president of his seventh grade class), he was
of political and social change. The other was a
never comfortable. At the age of 15, he dropped
man of the streets, who advocated changing out of school and moved to Boston,
America by any means necessary. But is this
Massachusetts, to live with his halfwsister. For
view really accurate? Before examining the

Emmett Till
murdered in
Money, Mississippi Edward Brooke
first black US
Jesse Owens Jackie Robinson
Hank Aaron
senator since breaks Babe Ruth's
wins four Olympic first black in
Reconstruction home run record
golds in Berlin major leagues

Richard Wright's President Althea Gibson

Native Son Truman desegregates wins Wimbledon Black population
is published armed forces singles title 11% of US total

1936 1940 1947 1948 1955 1957 1966 1970 1974

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Background Essay (Continued) Martin and Malcolm DBQ

the next six years Malcolm experienced the X set out to create his own organization
excitement and dangers of the street. He moved dedicated to achieving a better life for blacks in
to Harlem, where he ran numbers, sold drugs, America as well as all people of African
and was finally caught and sentenced to eight to descent. His Organization of Afro-American
ten years in prison for armed robbery. Unity (O.A.A.U.) became a powerful political
While in prison Malcolm encountered the force in a short period of time.

teachings of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation Martin Luther King: Biographical Information
of Islam. The religion appealed to the young, Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on
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angry Malcolm. Day and night Malcolm read January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. His
and expanded his mind. He copied a dictionary father, Martin Luther King, Sr., was one of the
from cover to cover and disciplined his thinking most important ministers in the South and was
through hours of intense debate with other himself the son of a preacher. Although young
prisoners. Paroled from prison in 1952, he was a Martin's family was by no means rich, it was
changed man both mentally and spiritually. clearly middle class. The King family had many
From 1952 until 1963, Malcolm X was a positive role models and was full of Christian
devout follower of Elijah Muhammad. love. At the age of six, Martin was told by a
Malcolm's name was changed to "X" to
last white family that he could not play with their

symbolize the African name that he could never son because of his skin color. This hurt the boy
know. To follow Mr. Muhammad meant submis- who had never before been aware of racism.

Sion to his spiritual ideas and his brand of Black When he went
Nationalism. The Nation of Islam demanded home and tearfully ...at the age of 15
complete abstinence from drugs and alcohol, a explained what (Martin) passed
limitation on foods such as pork, strict rules of had happened, his
the entrance exam to
prayer, a disciplined lifestyle at home, and parents sat him
Morehouse University
respect for one's brothers and sisters. All of down and told
and enrolled in
these things appealed to Malcolm as he com- him about the
facts of racism in college.
pared them to the chaos and violence of his
early life.
American life. But
they also told young Martin, "Don't let it make
Followers of Elijah Muhammad were also
you feel you are not as good as white people.
taught that the white race had brainwashed
You are as good as anyone else, and don't you
blacks to be patient while enduring injustice on
forget it." Martin's parents also taught him that
this earth. Malcolm adopted and preached this
it was his Christian duty not to hate the white
anti-white rhetoric, and because of this, he was
man. Martin took this teaching
considered racist by many people.
to heart.
In the last years of his Malcolm began
life,
In this loving and strict household, the young
to change. Two weeks before he died, Malcolm
King's enormous talents were allowed to mature.
said, "I am not a racist in any way, shape or
He excelled in school, and at age 15 passed the
form...." Malcolm's shift on racial issues came,
entrance exam to Morehouse University and
in part, because of his trips to Africa and the
enrolled in college. He next attended Crozer
Moslem holy city of Mecca. Here he saw indi-
Seminary and eventually received his Ph.D. in
viduals of all colors and languages praying
theology from Boston University. It was at
together to the same god, Allah. By late 1963
Crozer that King was introduced to the life and
Malcolm X had broken his ties with the Nation
teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi had led
of Islam. For the next year and a half, Malcolm
a massive nonviolent movement that freed India

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Background Essay (Continued) Martin and Malcolm DBQ
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of British colonial rule. King was greatly promised Federal government support in
impressed by Gandhi's nonviolence and appeal enforcing the new laws. For the role he played
for love. King
in bringing about these historic changes,

King did not leave school expecting to

was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For the
change the world. He was interested in becom- rest of his life he fought for voting rights,

ing a local pastor. However, in December 1955, economic opportunity, fair housing, and racial

at the age of 26, King was thrust into the national justice throughout the country.

spotlight. The week following Rosa Parks' On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., was sv
decision to remain seated in the front of a gunned down by an assassin on a motel balcony
Montgomery bus, King was chosen to lead a in Memphis, Tennessee. In 13 short years he had
boycott that would send shock waves through- touched millions of lives and influenced an
out America. His strong leadership and clear entire generation of people and leaders.
descriptions of the value of nonviolent protest
This DBQ asks you to examine the ideas of
helped keep the Montgomery boycotters from two men, one a Muslim who leaned towards
dividing. Within a year, Montgomery buses racial separation, the other a Christian who was
were desegregated. firmly integrationist. As you consider the
Two years later, King and other ministers documents that follow, remember that King and
formed the Southern Christian Leadership Malcolm X privately admired each other's style

Conference (S.C.L.C.). In early 1963, S.C.L.C. and courage. While they rarely praised each
struck a blow at segregation in Birmingham, other in public, they were not enemies.
Alabama. Here King wrote his famous "Letter And now to the central question. How
From a Birmingham Jail" detailing why the civil should America have confronted the inequalities
rights movement could no longer wait.
of the 1960s? Or as this DBQ asks: Martin
Next, King and his helpers staged a March Luther King and Malcolm X: Whose Philosophy
on Washington in August of 1963. Over 250,000 Made the Most Sense for America in the 1960s?
people attended the rally at which King
Have a Dream" speech.
delivered his famous "I
This march convinced President Kennedy and
his successor, Lyndon Johnson, that they had
enough support in the country to push hard for a

new set of laws ending segregation in the South.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 soon followed. These actions
by Congress ended the Jim Crow laws and

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Document 1 Notes

Source: AP/Wide World Photos

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X at the U.SE Capitol

March 26, 1964

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Document 2 Notes

Source: Martin Luther King, "l Have a Dream." Speech. August 28, 1963.

Reprinted by arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., c/o
Writers House, Inc. as agent for the proprietor. Copyright (c) 1963 by Martin Luther King,
Jr., copyright renewed 1991 by Coretta Scott King.

I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

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I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal.

I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of
former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit

down together at the table of brotherhood

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 their
character

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to

struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together,

knowing that we will be free one day.

Document 3

Source: Autobiography of Malcolm X, 1965

I tell sincere white people, "Work in conjunction with us — each of us

working among our own kind." Let sincere white individuals find all
other white people they can who feel as they do — and let them form their
own all-white groups, to work trying to convert other white people who
are thinking and acting so racist. Let sincere whites go and teach non-
violence to white people!

We will completely respect our white co-workers. They will deserve

credit. We will give them every credit. We will meanwhile be working

among our own own black communities — showing and

kind, in our
teaching black men in ways that only other black men can — that the
black man has got to help himself. Working separately, the sincere white
people and sincere black people actually will be working together.

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Document 4 Notes

Source: Martin Luther King, "Our God is Marching On." Speech made on Alabama State
Capitol steps at the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery march, March 21, 1965.

Reprinted by arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr.,

c/o Writers House, Inc. as agent for the proprietor. Copyright (c) 1963 by Martin
Luther King, Jr., copyright renewed 1991 by Coretta Scott King.

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We are on the move now. The burning of our churches will not deter us.
We are on the move now. The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us.
We are on the move now
Let us march on segregated schools until every vestige of segregation and
inferior education becomes a thing of the past and Negroes and whites
study side by side in the socially healing context of the classroom

Document 5

Source: Basic Unity Program, Organization of Afro-American Unity. Founded by Malcolm X in 1964.

Reprinted by permission of Pathfinder Press, Basic Unity Program, Organization of Afro-

American Unity. Copyright (c) 1967, Pathfinder Press.

The Organization of Afro-American Unity will devise original educational

methods and procedures which will liberate the minds of our children from
the vicious lies and distortions that are fed to us from the cradle to keep us
mentally enslaved. We encourage Afro-Americans themselves to establish
experimental institutes and educational workshops, liberation schools and
child-care centers in Afro-American communities.

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Document 6 Notes

Source: Martin Luther King, "Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom." Ebony, October 21, 1961.

Reprinted by arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., c/o
Writers House, Inc. as agent for the proprietor. Copyright (c) 1963 by Mattin Luther
King, Jr., copyright renewed 1991 by Coretta Scott King.

Along with the march as a weapon for change in our nonviolent arsenal sv
must be listed the boycott. Basic to the philosophy of nonviolence is the

refusal to cooperate with evil. There is nothing quite so effective as a refusal to

cooperate economically with the forces and institutions which perpetuate evil
in our communities.

In the past six months simply by refusing to purchase products from

companies which do not hire Negroes in meaningful numbers and in all job
categories, the Ministers of Chicago under SCLC's Operation Breadbasket
have increased the income of the Negro community by more than two million
dollars annually.... This is nonviolence at its peak of power, when it cuts into
the profit margin of a business in order to bring about a more just distribution

of jobs and opportunities for Negro wage earners and consumers.

Document 7

Source: Malcolm X, quoted in George Breitman, The Last Years of Malcolm X: Evolution of a
Revolutionary, 1967.

...(W)e have to learn how to own and operate the businesses of our community
and develop them into some type of industry that will enable us to create employ-
ment for the people of our community so that they won't have to constantly be
involved in picketing and boycotting other people in other communities in
order to get a job.

Also, in line with this economic philosophy of black nationalism, in order

for us to control the economy of our own community, we have to learn the
importance of spending our money in the community where we
you take money out of the neighborhood in which you live...the neighborhood
in which you spend your money becomes wealthier and wealthier, and the
neighborhood out of which you take your money becomes poorer and poorer.

...(W)e haven't learned the importance of owning and operating businesses...so

even when we tw and spend our money in the neighborhood where we live,

we're spending it with someone who puts it in a basket and takes it out as soon
as the sun goes down.

So economic philosophy of black nationalism puts the burden upon the

the
black man of learning how to control his own economy.

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Document 8 Notes

Source: Martin Luther King, speech made at a staff retreat. November 14, 1966.

Reprinted by arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Maftin Luther King, Jr., c/o
Writers House, Inc. as agent fot the proprietor. Copyright (c) 1963 by Martin Luther King,
Jr., copyright renewed 1991 by Coretta Scott King,

...(V)iolencemay murder the murderer, but it doesn't murder murder. sv

Violence may murder the liar, but it doesn't murder lie; it doesn't establish
truth. Violence may even murder the dishonest man, but it doesn't murder

dishonesty. Violence may go to the point of murdering the hater, but it

doesn't murder hate. It may increase hate. It is always a descending spiral
leading nowhere. This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies
evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems.

Document 9

Source: Malcolm X, interview in The Young Socialist. January 18, 1965.

I don't favor violence. If we could bring about recognition and respect of

our people by peaceful means, well and good. Everybody would like to
reach his objectives peacefully. But I'm also a realist. The only people in

this country who are asked to be nonviolent are black people. I've never
heard anybody go to the Ku Klux Klan and teach them nonviolence
Nonviolence is only preached to black Americans and I don't go along with
anyone who wants to teach our people nonviolence until someone at the

same time is teaching our enemy to be nonviolent. I believe we should

protect ourselves by any means necessary when we are attacked by racists.

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