Journalist Peter Goldman once described white America's perception of Martin Luther King Jr. as the "Angel of Light," and Malcolm X as the "Angel of Darkness." Goldman commented that what was missing in that view was the "...extent to which both men, Malcolm and Martin could set the pulse of America racing."
I have a dream that on day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, >We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. Martin Luther King, Jr.
No, I'm not an American. I'm on of the 22 million
black people who are the victims of Americanism. . . . I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare! Malcolm X
These quotes, by the two of the most significant African American leaders of the twentieth century, reveal opposite views of America and its relationship to black America. Rarely have two individuals been so compared and contrasted than the lives and thoughts of these two men.
Understanding American race relations in the mid twentieth century requires some understanding the previous several generations. Slavery based on racial identity began in America some 300 years ago. Although slavery itself was outlawed after the Civil War, a kind of de facto slavery was established in the official segregation systems of southern states; in the North, segregation was not legally sanctioned, but it did exist in unofficial but very real expressions of culture and power.
Two general wings of African American protest emerged, and they reflected in many ways the older distinction between field slaves and house slaves back on the plantation: field slaves did the hard work and were shut out from any kind of civilized interaction with whites while the house slaves took care of household chores, brought up the white children, greeted guests, and were expected to express the polite civility of the household. House slaves were fed and clothed better than field...