Southall 1

Ella Beth Southall

Professor Padgett
ENG 101
13 November 2015
Differing Opinions in a Chaotic Time
During the 1950s and 1960s, a question of race equality emerged that changed
culture in the United States of America. Out of this movement, three major concepts
developed alongside with three contrasting leaders. These social leaders show the
evolution of African American rights in the United States of America. Malcolm X was the
most radical of these advocates for African American rights and wished to separate the
African Americans from their Caucasian oppressors. Stokely Carmichael is the image of
Black Power, which works towards a more diverse government and inclusive country.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most peaceful out of these three and is a nonviolent
idealist and dreamer. As the tensions build around African American equality in the
United States, three leaders emerged with contrasting philosophies. Malcolm X, Stokely
Carmichael, and Martin Luther King Jr created a more diverse and accepting culture
within the United States of America.
Malcolm X was a radical advocate for the African American population in the
United States of America. Malcolm X or Malcolm Littles early life was uprooted several
times due to white supremacy and oppression, which later prompted his revolutionary
views. Malcolm X became a force in the Civil Rights effort and gained a large following
through his candor and extremity. As his ideas formed, Malcolm X quickly established a

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by any means necessary policy (Jay, 1). His first concern would always be for the
African American population, which secured his legitimacy as a leader of the Civil Rights
movement. In his address Message to the Grass Roots, Malcolm X asserts that,
America's problem is us. We're her problem. The only reason she has a problem is she
doesn't want us here. And every time you look at yourself, be you black, brown, red or
yellow, a so-called Negro, you represent a person who poses such a serious problem for
America because you're not wanted (1). In his speech, Malcolm X suggests that
America does not want any diversity. During his address, Malcolm X confronts the issue
of exclusion in the United States. He continues to suggest that the African American
population should separate from the United States of America. Though his views were
radical, Malcolm X starts a long overdue conversation in America, which inspired others
and eventually lead to the Civil Rights Act.
Stokely Carmichael became a leader in the African American community through
his work towards government recognition and involvement in equality. His tenacity and
determination created his legitimacy as a Civil Rights leader. Through his early education
at Howard University, Stokely Carmichael became a proponent for more government
action and participation (Carson, 1). From early stances, he became a main leader and
advocate for the Black Power Movement. His efforts produced results, which stimulated
a number of other blacks to speak out (Carson, 1). Carmichael constantly searched for
opportunities in the government through several different groups, such as the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In his speech Black Power, Carmichael
addresses the current government actions as a thalidomide drug of integration and that

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some negroes have been walking down a dream street talking about sitting next to white
people (249). Carmichael recognizes the abstract ideas of integration and the inspiring,
but unfounded work of the government, to which he demands more. Stokely Carmichael
is a utopian, who sees not what theoretically could be done, but what needs to be done.
As a slightly more realistic and adaptable leader than Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael
creates an educated response to the equality problem. Carmichael suggests that through
government action and recognition, the Civil Rights Act could become a reality.
Carmichael holds the government responsible, but instead of abandoning America, hopes
to recreate the agenda to support diversity and equality. Through his more thorough and
organized plan, Carmichael inspires results within the government and the United States
of America.
Martin Luther King Jr., a son of a preacher and a very religious person,
encourages messages of peace and patience within this time of change. In his essay, The
World House, Martin Luther King Jr.s sites the bible and Moses let my people go.
(285). His messages of constant patience and religion were crucial for the brutality the
African American community faced. He strove for peace and understanding, over the
other radical views and leaders, such as Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. was a
necessary voice in the time because of his patience, which allowed for further discussion
in the government. Though he was very proactive in his speeches and actions, he lacked
any detailed plan of addressing change for the future, unlike Stokely Carmichael. Though
he was less organized and less violent than Stokely Carmichael or Malcolm X, his actions
still unified the African American community. His famous March on Washington

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received national attention that could no longer be ignored by the predominantly white
government. His speech I Have a Dream may have lacked concrete plans, but certainly
did not lack conviction. Martin Luther King Jr.s address spoke of a day when 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 (5). Martin Luther King Jr. is an idealist,
whose words and actions opened the equality discussion on a national stage. As a leader
of patience and religion, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed Civil Rights in a way that
produced a visceral and human reaction from the nation. Martin Luther King Jr.s
compassion and patience contrasts with the other voices of the time and was a necessity
to the African American community.
Through three different approaches to civil rights, Malcolm X, Stokely
Carmichael, and Martin Luther King Jr. created a mixed discussion of equality in the
United States of America. Together, these different theologians generate a dialogue for
African American rights through their contrasting views. Their differing ideas cover a
large realm of America through their unintended discussion of violence, education, and
patience. Though Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, and Martin Luther King Jr. did not
intend to collectively create the discussion over African American rights, they began the
conversation with their differing opinions. Their opinions created a more diverse culture,
which broaden the United States of America. These leaders had a lasting effect in
American culture by shaping the discussion on African American equality and rights.

Ella Beth,
Youvedoneareallygreatjobofferingthehistoricalcontextforyourreader.Youhavereallydonewellto
giveafullcontextandbackgroundsonthesewritersandwheretheirarecomingfrom.IdofeellikeIm
justgettingasurveyorasummaryofalloftheseevents/text.Iwouldliketoseealittlemoreanalysisofthe
textsathand.Iwouldwanttoreadmoreabouthowaudienceaffectedthesewritersperspective.Idliketo
hearmoreonyourthoughtsonwhattheimpactmighthavebeenwitheachdifferentapproach,whatthereal
impactmighthavebeentoavarietyofaudiences.Inotherwords,whoisthewriterspeakingto?Whois
thewriterexcluding?Whyisthewriteraddressingorexcludinganyparticularaudience?Reallydigdeepin
tothesetextsandtheirorigins.Otherwise,greatworkhere.Ienjoyedreadingthis.

Works Cited
Bauknight, Lee, and William W. Garland. The Carolina Reader. Southlake,
TX: Fountainhead Press, 2013. Print.
Carson. "Carmichael, Stokely (1941-1998)." Carmichael, Stokely (1941-1998).
http:kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_stokely_carm
ichael_1941_1998. Web. 08

Novemeber. 2015.

Jay, L. The Black Power Movement 1968-1980. In Search of African America: One
Collectors Experience. An Exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Presidential
Museum.
Web. 06

http://hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/africanamerican/blackpower/.
November. 2015.

King Jr., Martin Luther. I Have a Dream The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
30: 121. I Have a Dream http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dreamspeech.pdf. Web. 2 November 2015.