1960s Dbq

When someone mentions the 1960’s, what do you think about? Do you think about the war in Vietnam, the Apollo 11 mission, or the Civil Rights movement? If you’ve ever thought about the Civil Right’s Movement; have you thought about whose philosophy was better for the 1960’s, was it Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. During the 1960’s, King wanted black’s and white’s to getting along; while Malcolm X wanted black’s and white’s to work separately. I think that Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy was best for the 1960’s because he was able to get so much done through his non violent ideas, his goals/business, and his plans for education and public accommodations.
One reason the Martin Luther King’s ideas were better for the 1960’ s is that he
wanted changes in the education system and public accommodations. One piece of evidence about the changes that King wanted or did made in the educational system and public accommodations was the Brown v. Board of Education. Another piece of evidence was in his speech “Our God is Marching on” “Let us march on segregated schools until every vestige of segregation and inferior education becomes a thing of the past and Negroes and whites study side by side in the socially healing context of the classroom” (doc 4). This is significant because King was able to accomplish his goals and now every race and skin color can go to the same school and get the same education. The last piece of evidence was Little Rock in Arkansas. This means that one of King’s goals was to make schools non segregated.
Another reason that King’s philosophy was better for the 1960’s was for his goals and his business ideas.
One of his goal’s and or business ideas was in document 2, where King states “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”. This sentence is from the U.S. constitution and this shows that King thinks that men are meant to be equal. Another piece of evidence is also in document 2, “I have a dream that one day out in the red hill of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood”. This shows that King dreamt of a day were we can all be together, which is how it is today. The last piece of evidence is from document 6, King tells how through non-violence; they were able to get jobs for
Negroes.
Although Malcolm X had some great ideas, King’s ideas were better. Malcolm X wanted Black’s and white’s to work and learn separately (doc 5). King thought it was better if we all work together towards the same goal. This shows that King had a better understanding of what was better for the world , which was to live together in peace. Malcolm X used violence to reach his goals during the 1960’s. King used nonviolent protesting to reach many of his goals that he was able to accomplish. This does not mean that King always used non-violence, if necessary he would use violence.
The biggest reason the King’s philosophy was better for the 1960’s was how he was able to accomplish many things through non-violence. One of the pieces of evidence that shows what King was able to accomplish through non-violence was the signing of the Civil Rights act of 1964. Another piece of evidence was his non-violent protesting which was able to get many Negroes jobs, end to segregation, and education. This shows that King was able to get so much done through non-violence. The final piece of evidence was that “the ultimate weakness of violence multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn’t solve any problem” (Doc 8). What King is saying is that violence is not always the way to solve a problem; the problem will only get worse.
In the 1960’s, black’s were fighting to end segregation, better education, jobs, and many more.
Malcolm X and King were both fighting for the Black’s but with different ideas. King wanted White’s and Black’s to get along so that their future children will live in a world where people are not judged based by their color of their skin or race. King wanted to achieve this goal through non-violence, which did help in the long run. Malcolm X wanted Black’s and White’s to work and be educated separately. X wanted to accomplish this through violence. The reason that I think that King’s philosophy was better for the 1960’s because it was time for a change. Many people were to afraid of change, so they just needed a push; which is what King did. King gave them a push so they can do what’s right. This is my opinion, whose philosophy do you think was better for the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr or Malcolm
X?