
Faces of the Civil Rights Movement: The Lives and Legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
Today, a man born Michael King Jr. is one of the most famous Americans in history, his name having been changed at the age of five to one the world fondly remembers: Martin Luther King Jr. The life and legend of Dr. King have been told to every American, many of whom come away equating King with the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. But King's life was about far more than leading movements and having dreams. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, while much of the nation's attention was given to peaceful protests, boycotts, and figures like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., a young man named Malcolm Little was rising through the ranks to become one of the leaders of the Nation of Islam. As Malcolm X, he would come to be one of the most controversial figures in 20th century America, hailed as a bold civil rights activist by some and reviled as a violent racist by others. What everyone can agree on, however, is that Malcolm X was one of the most influential Black leaders of th