The Trickster & The Minister

Malcolm X and MLK seemed to have started off from the opposing ends of the spectrum, but their ultimate goal was the same: freedom and liberation for the African Americans. They wanted the negative freedom – end of the oppression at the hands of the whites, and the positive freedom – self-purification for MLK, and abstinence from the vices of white men for Malcolm.

The path that they followed to attain this freedom, however, was quite different. Malcolm X was the man who removed the fear from the black people. He argued for their right to do “whatever is necessary” for their freedom, considering that they had been victims of brutal violence for centuries (Message to the Grassroots). He refused to be a part of the American system, because America had refused to embrace him as a full American. On the other hand, MLK was much more carful in his approach, clearly demarcating the distinction between the oppressive system and the people, and strongly denouncing the use of any form of violence, even if justified and retaliatory.  

Malcolm and MLK were both men of faith, the former a devout Muslim and the latter a Christian minister. It is interesting to see the use of religion in the assigned texts, by both these men, in the propagation of their respective ideas mentioned above.

When Malcolm speaks of God, he portrays a Powerful God, capable and willing to serve justice on behalf of His righteous people. He speaks of the God who is about to exact revenge by bringing America to doom. Even when he speaks of Elijah Muhammad as His messenger, he compares him to the old prophets, to Lot and Moses, who were sent with warnings to the nations before their destruction. The oppressed will be saved by God by the removal of those inflicting the oppression. Malcolm admits that God will never leave His people alone – by ensuring that before punishing the whites for their crimes, He will separate and protect them.

MLK also speaks of God. This God is essentially a liberating figure. MLK, too, mentions the prophets, but as the saviors of those who need help. The prophets who abandoned their homelands to save those in need. He also invokes the Biblical incident of David and the unfinished temple, and the story of Paul’s failure to spread God’s word in Spain. These religious invocations are meant to serve as beacons of hope, as anchors to hold on to, for the oppressed. He is preaching, to the black people, that as long as they are on the right side, God will never abandon them. And since the righteous may not see their efforts reach fruition in front of their eyes, the struggles and suffering will, undoubtedly, be part of their lives. The way to make it through this is to remain calm and non-violent, by holding tight to one’s faith.

 

            Toward the end of their lives, as James Baldwin observed, each seemed to be coming closer to the other’s position; MLK’s disappointment with the system and the people drew him to more radical ideas and Malcolm’s experiences in a world beyond the confines of Nation of Islam urged him to be more open-minded. It is a tragedy and an incredible misfortune of the world that it did not get to witness what could have been.