Social Justice

Martin vs. Malcolm: The Olive Branch and The Arrow

35 years before Biggie vs. Tupac, and generations after Dubois vs. Garvey &Washington, the two leading African American minds, of their generation, engaged in an exhibition of philosophies.

Published

12 years ago

August 29, 2013

Israel Wilson

Photo by Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MLK_and_Malcolm_X_USNWR_-_1964_-_LOC.tif

Table of Contents

For violence only begets violence so “again and again we must rise
to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” He understood that it was folly to “distrust of all white people, for many of” them had “come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.” Therefore, “we cannot walk alone.”(King) He believed in humanity, and in God. In his understanding the spirit was an active force in the daily lives of human beings and with the help of that spirit LOVE would be unstoppable.

Sadly, I can look at the current state of America state and, without hesitation, proclaim that Martin Luther King’s dream has not been fully realized. “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned…America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” Today most
African Americans have either stuffed that bad check in their pockets, or burned the check giving a middle finger to the legacy of those who fought for our freedom.