Reference no: EM132288729

Reflective Writing : Resistance and Revolution

This is an in-class activity. Read the following prompt. Please read it once through, marking any sentences or phrases that stand out to you. Malcom X:

"The black revolution is the struggle of the non-whites of this earth against their white oppressors. The black revolution has swept white supremacy out of Africa, out of Asia, and is getting ready to sweep it out of Latin America. Revolutions are based upon land. Revolutionaries are the landless against the landlord. Revolutions are never peaceful, never loving, never nonviolent. Nor are they ever compromising. Revolutions are destructive and bloody.

Revolutionaries don't compromise with the enemy; they don't even negotiate. .... it is a duty, it's your and my duty as men, as human beings, it is our duty to our people, to organize ourselves and let the government know that if they don't stop that Klan, we'll stop it ourselves....) don't believe in violence -- that's why I want to stop it. And you can't stop it with love, not love of those things down there, no. So, we only mean vigorous action in self-defense, and that vigorous action we feel we're justified in initiating by any means necessary.

MLK

...But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.

Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

In 2-3 thoughtful paragraphs, answer the following question: MLK and Malcom X clearly have very different ideas about what it means to resist inequality. Do you think like Malcom X, that revolution must be violent?

Or do you agree with MLK that change can be peaceful? In your opinion, what is the difference between resistance and revolution?

Is revolution the only viable form of resistance? Draw on your own experience, and on your knowledge of historical and current events.