The third step is an exploration of King and Malcolm X from 1964-1965, a time during which the men’s positions began to converge.
Have students work in small groups and review the following documents:
- Malcolm X’s letter to King (A Common Solution)
- King’s statement following Malcolm’s death (LA Times)
Malcolm X's slaying came at a time "when he was reevaluating his philosophy showing more tolerance for white people and the nonviolent movement."
- Malcolm X’s quote from “The Ballot or the Bullet”
- King’s statement on Black Power (Chapter 29 of Autobiography)
“Although I’m still a Muslim, I’m not here tonight to discuss my religion. I’m not here to try to change your religion. I’m not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it’s time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem…Whether we are Christians or Muslims or nationalists or agnostics or atheists, we must first learn to forget our differences, let us differ in the closet; when we come out in front, let us not have anything to argue about…”
“There is a concrete, real black power that I believe in. I don’t believe in black separatism, I don’t believe in black power that would have racist overtones, but certainly if black power means the amassing of political and economic power in order to gain our just and legitimate goals, then we all believe in that. And I think that all white people of good will believe in that.”
Materials/Links
What most surprised you about what you read in these documents? Why?
How does this information affect your original perception of both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.?
List three ways in which you see the ideas of Dr. King and Malcolm X converging.
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Liberation Curriculum, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, ©2004