"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." This was stated by Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement in 1964 while he was giving a speech about the times of challenge and controversy (MLK). Many great people made huge impacts during this time; for example, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. All speakers had very different tactics on getting their point across. Two speeches that stood out are: Martin Luther King's, The World House and Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet; although, both messages wanted to get rid of the oppression of African Americans, they had very different tactics. 

Martin Luther King was an icon during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. He made huge steps forward, changing society as everyone knows it today. His speech, The World House, was all about war, racism, and poverty; and how todays society needs to change so that people can move on and the US can succeed. Part I of the speech was about war and how to be morally correct, people need to avoid war to become successful and create world peace. King thought that the world was "in a universe doomed to extinction by war." He truly thought that the 

world would come to an end if humans did not try to end war. He glorifies the fact that the inventions of his time were so advanced; and that the inventions had an "enormous significance 

for out future" (The Carolina Reader). He likes the idea that one day these inventions will get so advanced that we can one day get to the moon and have jets that get from New York to London in two and a half hours. "Medical science will greatly prolong the lives of men by finding a cure for cancer " He speaks about how this will create a new world for humans and it will lead to peace between all nations and society. He states that if humans continue "without this spiritual and moral reawakening we shall destroy ourselves in the misuse of our own instruments" (The Carolina Reader). To reach a peaceful nation, Martin Luther King Jr. is correct when he says that without people being spiritually and morally correct, we cannot obtain peace. What his main point is in all of the examples in part I is that man needs peace. To gain this "peace," humans have to get rid of war, use the new inventions for good, and lastly be morally correct. 

Part II is about how humans need to get rid of racism. King calls racism the "hound of hell which dogs the tracks of our civilization" (The Carolina Reader). He says how racism is not just an American problem, it also is a very large problem in South Africa with apartheid still partially in place during this time. He states that if we do not fix this problem then humans will see the "sins of our fathers" catch up to younger generations. This means that if humans don't take control of this problem now then it will be passed down to future generations and the problem may never be fixed. King states that "Racism can well be that corrosive evil that will bring down the curtain on Western civilization" (The Carolina Reader). 

Part II goes on about how racism is destroying society, how it can lead to the downfall of countries. Part III focuses mainly on how wealth and poverty can affect a society. "We must with affirmative action seek to remove those conditions of poverty, insecurity and injustice" (The Carolina Reader). He means that people need to help the poor and attempt to get rid of the poverty so that society can flourish. Martin Luther King Jr. thought that fixing the problem of war, racism, and poverty would fix society and he gives many reasons why he thinks it will change.  

 

Malcolm X is significantly different from Martin Luther King Jr. but somewhat similar to Carmichael in the aspect that they both believe in the organization of people to make a difference. Malcolm X promoted that the "hands of the white man" were very politically oppressive, that the economic exploitation was because of the white man. He later states that he is not "anti-white," he just thinks that the whites are fully responsible for the oppression, economic exploitation, and the degrading of the black race. He thought that if the blacks didn't act against the whites that thing wouldn't change. Now Malcolm X was similar to Martin Luther King Jr., in his belief in organization, the only difference is that his organization was based behind violence. During the speech he speaks about its either "the ballot or the bullet." He meant that that African American race can either try and stand behind a podium and talk to the people to lead a revolt or they can pick up their arms and violently revolt against the whites. He gave examples on how the ballot was not always successful because things haven't changed and the blacks are still getting oppressed. He states that "the ballot" means freedom form the oppression of the white man. He thought that African American was worse than being called African, because being an African American meant that you were a negro and that you were less than an African. The word "negro" had a bad connotation because when someone heard negro they thought of how people displayed them. They were displayed as alcoholics, drug addicts, and lesser humans because they had different skin than white people. Malcolm X thought that the only way to get past this view of African Americans, was to remove all of the evil and bad things that had been going on during this time period. The last thing that Malcolm X wanted was for "Lyndon B. Johnson  let him go into the Senate next week and declare himself" (Malcolm X). He needed a higher powering individual to take charge of this situation, he said this is a huge part of the changing of society. Malcolm X was a great speaker and was very influential to the society and culture during this time period. His violent acts eventually caught up to him in the end because he was assassinated for everything that he had done. 

M.L. King took the pacifist side to Americans problem of oppressing the black, while Malcolm X took a violent tactic on changing the African American life style. King was teaching the people to "adjust new ideas," while Malcolm X was telling people to "know what you're fighting for" (Carolina Reader). King isn't telling people not to "fight" for what they believe, he is telling the people that the reason that America is in this mess is because were fighting against "morality" and "civil rights" (Carolina Reader). Malcolm X is telling the people to raise up and fight for what they believe. The difference between the two in this situation, King is speaking to the world, Malcolm X is speaking to Americans. In other counties, for example, South Africa, if they were to violently go against their government because of apartheid, then they would all be shot and killed in cold blood. Martin Luther King takes that tactic to "go against" one's government in a peaceful manner, so that the government will respond in a peaceful way. Malcolm X's religion had a violent background, and he used Islam as a basis for the decisions he made. In the end they were both assassinated but King left a mark on society as we know it today, while Malcolm X made an impact but is known as the psycho violent man. 

During the civil rights movement there were many different tactics on how to change society. Martin Luther King Jr. took the more pacifist route and thought that talking and organized revolts would lead to change. While Malcolm X thought that violent organized revolts would lead to the success of black people and it would help them move past this time period. All tactics had their own impact on society and all these men made a huge difference during the Civil Rights Movement. 

