Throughout all of our educations, Martin Luther King Jr. has remained at the center of the Civil Rights Movement, rightfully so, as he was the main leader. However, another leader of the movement who typically isn’t viewed in an outrightly positive light is Malcolm X. X has been bashed throughout history for his militant views regarding to the liberation of Black Americans. Commonly, the two leaders were placed on opposite sides of a coin. However, it is important to realize that the two leaders both wanted to uplift the black community within this country.
In a speech in 1968, King spoke on his stance on riots and violent protests. Although he has always favored non-violent means to achieve goals, he noted how “a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met.” Through this quote, King expresses how he deeply understands why people choose to riot, although he does not directly support it.
It’s important to recognize that X and King were both fighting towards the same goal. Although their means of achieving their goals differed, the two men respected each other and worked together. King understood why X positioned himself in the way that he did, and X understood King as well. The two understood who the real enemy was and discouraged infighting.
Connecting back to Do the Right Thing, infighting is a central theme to the film as we see people from various races and ethnicities, fighting against each other in a community that was big enough for everyone. The people groups in the community had more in common than differences, and yet they continued to fight one another, even though all of them have/had a history of discrimination against them in this country. Instead of building each other up and celebrating their differences, everyone focused on what made them different and saw it in a negative light until it came to a breaking point.
