1. Create two columns on the board with “Martin Luther King, Jr.” at the top of one and “Malcolm X” at the top of the other. Have students brainstorm words or phrases that come to mind when they think of each man.

2. Break students into small groups and provide them with handout of quotes by King and X. Have them guess the identity of the author based on the previous exercise. After revealing the appropriate authors, discuss how and why we have these fixed images of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Materials/Links

• Quote Handout

• King Encyclopedia
• King Interactive Timeline

Preparation:

• Read Clayborne Carson’s article “The Unfinished Dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.”
• Carson, Clayborne, ed. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapter 25, “Malcolm X.”
• Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Chapter 18, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
• PBS Documentary Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads – 1965 to 1985