One of the most tired tropes of the history of the civil rights movement is the comparison of the approaches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X to the scourges of racism and segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the use of the two men’s writings is extremely useful in examining social movement strategy in general.
Protests inspired by the murder of George Floyd swept the country in 2020. After reading King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Malcolm X’s Ballot or the Bullet, what elements of each of their approaches do you see in the Floyd protests? Do you see one or the other approach dominating and become ascendant?
Readings:
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/065.html
Part 2
Of all of the issues which comprise part of the environmental movement, which one do you feel is the most important? Do you feel the importance of that particular issue should come first in the consideration of any other issue raised by the environmental movement? Why or why not?
