Civil Divides Can Create a War within a Movement

ENGL-0102-51
Michael J. Pettengell
William H Brooks III
March 1, 2014

“Civil Divides Can Create a War within a Movement”

In the quest of creating a movement many wars must be fought, and yet only the visible wars are recognized, many unseen events are absent from our history of today. The result of these wars can become a foundation, leaving behind bloodshed or celebration. These wars can also become civil and be fought upon the frontlines of its foundation amongst its very own pioneers, leaving its true purpose invisible to an entire nation. Such was the struggle/war for equality that was shared between blacks and other minorities in the late 60’s; this indeed was a brutal pursuit towards true happiness. The pursuit of this constitutional right became the roots of a movement, a movement that would unite all races across the wide spectrum of humanity and unify anyone that believed in true equality for all. There is always a sign of movement going on when looking through the hourglass of life, and some of these movements may even seem irrelevant when gazing upon the fullness of the hourglass, but when that hourglass is nearly empty then we realize that every grain of sand in that hourglass is significant as a whole. I choose to look at the history of the Civil Rights movement through this very same hourglass, observing the different personalities that influenced the minds of many to become shakers and movers of that era. Some of these personalities were well known, like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, but many of them remained rural identities within the Civil Rights Movement itself. Some common identities such as those mentioned earlier reflect the great divide that coexisted within the Civil Rights Movement, for even though these leaders / activist shared a common goal, they were extremely diverse in methods of thinking, education, and politics. Usually when we look at wars we recognize only the names of the leaders and generals, but what about the foot soldier? Was not his sacrifice and service just as great? I feel that no amount of sacrifice can be measured when fighting together for a common cause. When any movement moves it moves together despite the various and opposing mechanics that give it life. Many examples of opposition can be found throughout the Civil Rights Movement, including people such as Malcolm X, Dr. King, W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. All of these leaders had very different viewpoints on how to obtain equality as well but became allied enemies that were willing to walk hand and hand with their exact polar opposites to achieve their ultimate objective. Even though Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both champions in the Civil Rights Movement and spoke out against racial discrimination, they both chose different courses of action to achieve our racial resolve. These two opposite thinking men had similarities such as both of their fathers being leaders within the community of the Baptist church. In fact these two great leaders in their youth grew up inside of the Baptist church’s congregation. The differences between Malcolm X and Dr. King could be also said to have derived from the presence of or lack thereof a father figure in both of their adolescence years. This also is an issue that contributes to the divide within the movement and is represented through the irony of the haves and the have not’s which I will discuss in further detail a little later. I would say that Dr. King’s childhood life was more privileged than that of Malcolm X’s childhood, because Dr. King’s family was present in his life always supporting him, as where Malcolm X was not as fortunate having to rely mostly on himself and street smarts just to get by. Malcolm X looked up to the pimps and pushers of the streets because there was no consistent seat provided for him by the pulpit. This is a primary example of the have not whose mind becomes militant and troubled because of the absence of a family’s positive guidance. A current black revolutionist: The author of Race Matters shares my point of view and wrote: Black leadership at the national level tends to lack a moral vision that can organize (not just periodically energize), subtle analyses that enlighten (not simplify intermittently awaken), and exemplary practices that uplift (not merely convey status that awes) black people. Second, this relative failure creates vacuums to be filled by bold and defiant Black Nationalist figures with even narrower visions. (West 67-68) The absence of support from Malcolm’s X family left the door open for Louis Farrakhan and the radicle thinking of the nation of Islam to capture his mind. These are the same types of bold, Black Nationalist that Mr. West just described and the absence of Malcolm X’s family created the vacuum in his life. What was the result of this vacuum? It was hatred, revenge, and outrage which all were frequently heard in the early speeches given by Malcolm X. Mr. West feels that Malcolm wasn’t so much a leader as Dr. King but a great speaker/salesman for Alisha Mohammed. The difference being that Dr. King represented a movement that was organized and implicated by his own means as where Malcolm X’s speeches and televised events were delegated by Alisha Mohammed. When Malcolm X viewpoints changed during his visit to Mecca the chickens in the Nation of Islam went out to roost upon his very life. Malcolm X died a have not, meaning that his identity wasn’t his but created, given to him and destroyed by the Nation of Islam, He was only just discovering his own true identity when his life was snuffed out by the very man he idolized. This it is just one of the many divides that existed within the Civil Rights Movement. Other divides were cultivated by the different methods utilized to achieve equality for minorities. Dr. King strategy was effective and for those who looked upon His dream such as Malcolm x did he would say: "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter." (Dr. King 4th February 1968). Dr. King’s usage of peaceful marches, and positive speeches that unified blacks in a united front that showed a willingness to put their lives in harm’s way for the pursuit of equality. Malcolm x’s was also effective but in an eye for an eye sense, He promoted retribution and retaliation which were negative methods aimed at achieving the same equality that Dr. King sought. This is a representation of positive and negative ideologies that are divided by natural design so it represents division in its purest form within the Civil Rights Movement. Even though these are only two men, these two men represented many men of color to the sum of an entire race. This is the division that’s not told in the history books, but is felt within the black communities of today. We have our Steve Harvey’s and our Katt Williams of today both famous black comedians, but separated because of some of the same views that Dr. King and Malcolm X disagreed about. I myself live with and feel this divide/separation within the black community every day, there are places I can’t go because I’m not violent ,as where for others there are places within the black community that blacks making minimum wages can’t go. Why do you ask? It is because some of us have and the other half of us don’t. This is the same rift that divided Dr. King and Malcolm X, because most of us in black communities don’t have the parental support or luxury of wealth. Most of us are exposed to the same pimps and drug dealer element that Malcolm X encountered. Though this is the case, there are many black families’ that are doing well, but have resentment towards blacks that are living in poverty. We must realize that these two Great black leaders symbolized us all the good and the bad, the achieved and the deprived, the haves and the have not’s. Throughout history black leaders have always tried to heal this divide, one such occurrence was when Jesse Jackson stated: "I am - Somebody. I may be poor, but I am -Somebody! I may be on welfare, but I am - Somebody! I may be uneducated, but I am - Somebody! I must be I’m God’s child. I must be respected and protected. I am black and I am beautiful! I am - Somebody! Soul Power!"( Address to Operation Breadbasket rally, 1966). One can’t understand what it’s not to have a privilege or access to a different life when they are free from the ghettos and slums. This is the same a person from the slums not knowing how Wall Street functions because everyday survival is his or her priority and learning falls on the backburner. Some of the terms used to describe the unknown foot soldiers in the Civil Rights movement were activist, revolutionary, and militant. These names in their own definition reiterate that there was a divide within the movement itself, even though they all perused one goal. Two such influential intellectuals were, W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Unfortunately, due to a conflict of ideals, these two were often were at ends with one another, and often very publically voiced their disagreements with one another. Du Bois ideas were predominately, give African-Americans full equality now; while Washington, on the other hand, was, allow us to get jobs and attend trade school so African-Americans could gain stable lives. While both men's ideals, and influences were very important, Booker T. Washington's ideals were more rational and more tactfully delivered to the public; therefore, Washington's ideals were more influential and important to cause of African-American equality than those of Du Bois. The beautiful thing about the division within the Civil rights movement is the different varieties of intellect that developed within it, and all the different views of equality that gave us hope. The historic thing about the movement is how it all came together to fulfill our nation’s constitution and reinforce the very foundation of our country. It’s like going out in the world on your own, to fully discover who you are in this diverse world then bringing all that knowledge back home to elevate your family.

“Civil Divides Can Create a War within a Movement”

Work Cited

West, Cornel; “Race Matters “, First Vintage Books Edition, April 1994, (pg.67-68)

Bowers. Page, Time U.S.,” A Civil Rights Divide over Obama,” http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1708862,00.html, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008, (np) web

Isserman, Maurice; Kazin, Micheal, “America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s”, Oxford University Press. 2004, (pg.15)

Jackson, Jesse, History Learning Site,” Civil Rights Quotes”, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/civil%20rights%20quotes.htm.(np)web

Matthew, Cardinale, Atlanta Progressive News, “(IPS) Occupy Movement Divides Civil Rights Activists”, http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2011/10/31/(ips)-occupy-movement-divides-civil-rights-activists.html, (np)web

ENGL-0102-51
Michael J. Pettengell
William H Brooks III
March 1, 2014

Notes/ What I observed during research for this paper

Researching for the information to write this paper took me on a journey of unexpected turns and some startling finds. One of the most interesting things that I found out is that the divide in the Civil Rights movement actually had an effect on the 2008 election; I discovered that certain blacks would or wouldn’t vote for President Obama based upon their financial status and political views. The biggest issue most minorities had with the president was that he didn’t have a solidified backing coming out of the NAACP. Other things that stuck in my mind was how complicated the views of the major player in the Civil Rights movement varied. I mean they were total polar opposites, also the lack of having parental structure effecting Malcolm X the way that it did, literally pushing Him into the arms of Alisha Mohammed. I also feel personally that you see a lot of that same opposition that existed between the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in a lot of the areas of the black community today. I can relate personally to the lack of financial stability causing you complications as well within your own race. The more education one has I think without proper relations with those who suffer from poverty, the more isolated and wealthy become from realization. I know for a fact that the divide between blacks and other people of color will have a huge impact on the upcoming elections as well. Based upon the information that I gathered in writing this paper I will cross examine myself more often and try to be much more transparent to issues dealing with poverty. The greater a division is between two factions of a common cause the greater the odds are for something magnificent to occur. With this in mind I will stay dedicated and focused on promoting issues that warrant a fair hand shake and equality.