I have a dream today- (King 3). King ultimately believed that morality would save society. .
Malcolm X on the other hand believed that change must be brought about "by any means necessary." Malcolm X was involved in more violent organizations including the legendary Black Panthers and the Black Muslims. His speeches were much more aggressive, including phrases like: "We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America, should and will be the victims of God's divine wrath" (Malcolm X 2). .
In order to bring about change, each man took initiative by generating rallies and speeches. In his speech entitled, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. strives to justify the desperate need for nonviolent direct action. As he states in his speech:.
But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored," when your first name becomes "nigger" and your middle name becomes "boy" .
Ziegler 3.
(however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and when your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs." then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. (King 280).
Martin Luther King Jr. felt that the time was now for the black man to fight for his equality. Years had passed by where the black race has bowed their heads to the white man in defeat, and he felt that the black race needed retribution for the white man's iniquitous actions.
