Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm strongXstrong Voices of Moral.pdfVIP

ESSAI Volume 6 Article 20 4-1-2008 Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X : Voices of Moral Authority Christine Dyslin College of D uPage Follow this and additional works at : /essai Recommended Citation Dyslin, Christine (2008) Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm : Voices of Moral Authority, ESSAI : Vol. 6, Article 20. Available at : /essai/vol6/iss1/20 This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. It has been accepted for inclusion in ESSAI by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. For more information, please contact koteles@. Dyslin: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X: Voices of Moral Authority by Christine Dyslin (History 2260) alcolm X and Martin Luther King both died violently. The United States of America of the 1960’s could not tolerate them. Their message of the empowerment and dignity of Mblack human beings in America, though approached through different means, was perceived as threatening to the white community and to the status quo of the communities from which they came. The social context into which their movements imposed themselves was turbulent with a subtext of violence. White Americans in the 1950’s and 60’s were by and large economically prosperous but living in fear: fear of communism, fear of nuclear war, fear of cultural change, and fear of the growing power and influence of black people. Both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were committed to making the black vo