MLK Day 2012

Martin Luther King patterned his nonviolent approach to the fight for civil rights after Gandhi's campaign of nonviolence against the British in India. But how far does King's approach advance without Malcolm X's militant views?

Desegregating lunch counters and buses were symbolic moves that relied upon officials in the south being embarrassed by the the pictures being seen across the nation. The fight for political power struck at the very heart of Dixie.

Rev. King's tactics were radical, but it took the fear of revolution in the streets for the powers that be to finally realize that the Constitution applied to everyone. Without the fear of violence, would the politicians have reacted the way they did?

Rev. King and Malcolm X were two sides of the same coin. Their tactics may have differed. Their motivations may have differed. Their goals, however, were similar.