MLK and Malcolm X, African-American Civil Rights Leaders

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his I Have a Dream''speech and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Malcolm X (1925 -1965) was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. He was an advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. Detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. Malcolm X's father was killed by white supremacists, one of his uncles was lynched and when he was thirteen, his mother was placed in a mental hospital. In 1946 he went to prison for breaking and entering. While there he became a member of the Nation of Islam and after his parole in 1952 he quickly rose to become one of its leaders. For years Malcolm X was the public face of the controversial group, but disillusionment with it's leader Elijah Muhammad led him to leave the Nation in 1964. After a period of travel in Africa and the Middle East, he returned to the United States, where he founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X's beliefs changed over time. As a spokesman for the Nation of Islam he taught black supremacy and advocated separation of black and white Americans. After breaking with the Nation of Islam and becoming a Sunni Muslim, he disavowed racism and expressed willingness to work with civil rights leaders. On February 21, 1965, as Malcolm X prepared to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, a disturbance broke out. A man rushed forward and shot him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men charged the stage and fired semi-automatic handguns, hitting Malcolm X several times. He was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. According to the autopsy report, Malcolm X's body had 21 gunshot wounds. The three assassins were member of the Nation of Islam

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Activist African American Assassinated Baptist Desegregation Discrimination Disobedience Icon Junior Laureate Luther Methods Murdered Negro Nobelist Non-violent Orator Recipient Reverend Segregation Violent Youngest

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