Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents / Edition 1

by David Howard-Pitney

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312395056
Publisher:	Bedford/St. Martin's
Publication date:	02/20/2004
Series:	Bedford Cultural Editions Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.40(d)

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-Pitneys publications include The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

Table of Contents

Foreward
Preface

List of Illustrations

PART ONE

Introduction: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X in the African American Freedom Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s

PART TWO

The Documents: Words and Themes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
1. Formative Influences and Ideas
Martin Luther King Jr.

An Autobiography of Religious Development, 1950

Pilgrimage to Nonviolence, 1960

Malcolm X

From Nightmare to Salvation, 1965

2. Social Ends: Racial Integration versus Separation
Martin Luther King Jr.

The Ethical Demands for Integration, 1963

Malcolm X

From The Black Revolution, 1963
Independence, Not Separation, 1964

3. Means of Struggle: Nonviolent Resistance versus By Any Means Necessary
Martin Luther King Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963
From Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom, 1966

Malcolm X

From The Afro-Americans Right to Self Defense, 1964
From On Revolution, 1963

4. On America: Dream or Nightmare?

Martin Luther King Jr.

I Have a Dream, 1963

Malcolm X

The White Man Is a Devil: Statements on Whites, 1965

From Gods Judgment of White America, 1963

5. Critiques of Rival Racial Programs and Philosophies

Martin Luther King Jr.

Three Responses of Oppressed Groups, 1958
On Black Nationalists and Malcolm X, 1965
The Nightmare of Violence: Regarding the Death of Malcolm X, 1965

Malcolm X

Black Bodies with White Heads! 1965
From Message to the Grassroots, 1963

King Is the White Mans Best Weapon, 1963

6. Eras of Convergence
Martin Luther King Jr.

From Beyond Vietnam, 1967
From Where Do We Go From Here? 1967

Malcolm X

Press Conference on Return From Africa, 1964
Sincere Whites (That Coed Again), 1965
Im Not a Racist, 1964
America Can Have a Bloodless Revolution, 1964
From The Ballot or the Bullet, 1964
All of Us Should Be Critics of Each Other, 1964
My Voice Helped Save America, 1965

Appendixes
A Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Chronology (1925-1968)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"The Bedford Series in History and Culture "not only introduces students to some of the most vital primary documents in American history, but the thoughtful introductions provide the most recent, provocative, and accessible interpretations of their subjects."

From the Publisher