Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents

by David Howard-Pitney, Natalie Zemon Davis (Editor), Ernest R. May (Editor)

The civil rights movement’s most prominent leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) and Malcolm X (1925–1965), represent two wings of the revolt against racism: nonviolent resistance and revolution "by any means necessary." This volume presents the two leaders’ relationship to the civil rights movement beyond a simplified dualism. A rich selection of speeches, essays, and excerpts from Malcolm X’s autobiography and King’s sermons shows the breadth and range of each man’s philosophy, demonstrating their differences, similarities, and evolution over time. Organized into six topical groups, the documents allow students to compare the leaders’ views on subjects including integration, the American dream, means of struggle, and opposing racial philosophies. An interpretive introductory essay, chronology, selected bibliography, document headnotes, and questions for consideration provide further pedagogical support.

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction, American History, Politics, College, African American

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2004

About the author

DAVID HOWARD-PITNEY has taught American history and American studies at San Jose State University and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He is now professor and history department chair of De Anza College. He worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986 and from 2000 to 2002 was a commissioned scholar for the Public Influences of African American Churches Project of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College. A specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders' thought and rhetoric, Howard-Pitney's publications include The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I initially considered for my Intro to African American Studies class. However, almost all of the speeches, chapters, essays, and other excerpts are abridged. There are some puzzling editorial choices, too: King's interview for Playboy magazine is introduced, but not actually included--there's a note on four pages stating, "This material has been omitted intentionally in this reprint." Then why include it at all? It's not a comprehensive collection of Malcolm X's and King's writings and speeches anyway, so it's not like omitting that one interview would make this collection incomplete.

For people looking for an overview of King's and Malcolm's views, or are unfamiliar with their work (other than, perhaps, what pop culture and collective memory has perpetrated), this is a good book. It's slim--it won't take a reader long to get through this--but for scholars or people looking for a more in-depth look at these two men, this isn't the book for them.

Yes, I am aware that the title says "A Brief History." It's just a little too brief for my needs.

[Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is just about perfect for what it is--significant excerpts from primary documents to give one a broad overview of the lives and ideologies of these two leaders. It's dear to me because it was the book that made me want to pursue Malcolm X more, since I was never taught anything positive (rarely anything at all) about him in elementary, middle, or high school.

[Piker7977 · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Howard-Pitney has complied a good collection of primary sources that illustrate the differences between the two civil rights icons. A lot of the popular King documents are included as well as excerpts from Malcolm X's Autobiography. This means that there is not a whole lot of groundbreaking material but the collection works well at illustrating the ideological divergence (and convergence) between King and X. Most important, and the most interesting, are the sections covering King and X's upbringing and childhood. There is a stark contrast between the two and it dawns on the reader how these circumstances affected their future leanings. Their religious orientations are interesting as well.

This is a great resource for a historical context and primary sources for research.

[Christopher Grossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considering that I had no experience with either of the individuals, I thought its use of primary documents was a great way to capture the messages they wanted to send to the public.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating. This book greatly helped me to better understand Martin and Malcolm, to both respect and sharply criticize their ideologies and actions. Martin was far too theologically liberal and utopian in his thinking, though I am profoundly stirred by his use and defense of nonviolent resistance. Malcolm, also a utopian, was a realistic thinker but too hotheaded and rash. Islam was the perfect religion for his openness to violence. I found Malcolm's explanation of how he is not a racist ironic, since many white people would explain how they are not racist in the same way.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. A good compilation, and I was able to take a few excerpts to assign when I taught an introductory U.S. history class at a community college. This book is a useful text if you are a beginner who wants to know more about these important men. I highly recommend full-length recordings of King’s speeches and Malcolm X’s Autobiography if your interest is piqued for more. I also found several good teaching pieces in The Radical King.

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing the shifts in thought, the frustrations, the disappointments, the olive branches of hope, the dynamic personalities expressed in their own words has been richly rewarding and existentially challenging. A good read.

[Sarah Song · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to MLK and Malcolm X primary sources. The selected pieces are presented in a way to facilitate direct comparison across six main themes. Some of the pieces have been abridged quite a bit tho

[Yoli C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well written on a different perspective and how MLK and Malcom X really were more alike than people think.

[CherylShady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s told through the words of her two key activists.

This book is a relatively quick.read and well organized. The author used the settings and along with speeches and interview by MLK and Malcolm X to weave a picture of the U.S. And the struggle for civil.rights.

[Hussain Alrebeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm writing a summery homework for History class. Book looks interesting so far. I will write it here after I finished it.

[SD]

Exactly as advertised. It is a nice brief history with documents.