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What did Malcolm X do for the Civil Rights Movement in America? Do not simply describe his beliefs. Instead, say what he achieved for the right of...

Compared to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X really did not achieve anything for the Civil Rights Movement.  In other words, Malcolm did not get the government to pass any laws. That was not really what he was trying to do. Instead, Malcolm’s main achievement was less measurable. It had to do with changing the attitudes of African Americans.


Malcolm X was a radical and a separatist.  He did not really believe in working...

Compared to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X really did not achieve anything for the Civil Rights Movement.  In other words, Malcolm did not get the government to pass any laws. That was not really what he was trying to do. Instead, Malcolm’s main achievement was less measurable. It had to do with changing the attitudes of African Americans.


Malcolm X was a radical and a separatist.  He did not really believe in working with white groups or trying to influence the white-dominated government.  Therefore, he did not work for a specific political agenda. Because he did not work for such an agenda, he did not influence the government to pass any laws in the way that King did.


The link below connects us to a site run by the estate of Malcolm X. Even this site, which presumably would like to claim many achievements for Malcolm, does not claim that he influenced any legislation.  The most notable accomplishments listed there are that he influenced Cassius Clay to change his name to Muhammad Ali and that he founded the Organizations of Afro-American Unity.  This organization essentially did not last past his death.


So what did Malcolm X accomplish?  The best answer to this is to say that he helped get African Americans to feel more pride in themselves.  Malcolm’s black nationalist ideas encouraged black people to feel that they were equal to whites and that they did not need white people.  He influenced them to think about ideas like black power and “black is beautiful” so they would not just compare themselves to white people. This is not really a tangible achievement like those of Dr. King.  However, he did have an effect on the attitudes of African American people.


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