Question Choices(Choose and write on just One):
A) On what grounds, moral and practical, did Martin Luther King argue that nonviolent resistance offers the best tool for fighting injustice and making social progress?
B) Describe the views about blacks and whites held and taught by the Nation of Islam and by Malcolm X for many years. Why did such teachings appeal to many African Americans?
C) Why did Malcolm finally break with the Nation of Islam? In what ways did Malcolm’s ideas and proposals for African-American action significantly change in his independent, post-Nation phase?
D) What (through 1963) did Malcolm claim were the goals and traits of a genuine revolution, and why did he think the nonviolent so-called “Negro Revolution” failed to constitute one? How did he later re-assess what methods might bring positive results for blacks? How, did he later suggest, might America have “a bloodless revolution”?
E) What new major issues—in addition to integration and civil rights for African Americans—did King increasingly seek to address during the latter 1960s? Was he more or less successful in achieving his later goals as he had been achieving his earlier ones? Why or why not?
F) Compare and contrast the social origins and backgrounds of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. How may their dissimilar life experiences help explain some of their different views and attitudes?
G) In what ways did King and Malcolm’s views grow more similar during their respective latter periods? In what areas were they nearer in agreement than earlier? In what area or areas did they still significantly differ?
Directions: Click “compose and submit new document” button below.
Write an essay of approximately 750 to 1,200 words (about 3-5 double-spaced typed pages) in which you address and answer ONE of the Questions. Type at its start: your Name, Student ID Number, and Letter of the Question on which you are writing. Always support the accuracy of your statements and conclusions about these leaders by using information and statements by them from the book’s historical documents. Base your argument on their own words. Don’t quote or cite very much the editor/author (Howard-Pitney)’s secondary statements aboutthem, Base your answers on statements made by King and Malcolm that appear in the primaryhistorical documents of our assigned book. Do Not use other books or internet collections of their speeches; use only our class’s book’s statements by King and Malcolm.
Whenever referring to a document’s contents–whether directly quoting it, paraphrasing it or even just relaying its basic information–always cite your information’s documentary source. Place in parentheses the page number of the book where its statement or information appears in a document. Give the author, title and page number of the document either within your own sentence’s writing, or place all or the rest of the required citation information in parentheses at your sentence’s end (just before the period).
Here are Examples of acceptable Citation Forms.
Quote: King wrote, “I am convinced for practical as well as moral reasons, nonviolence offers the only road to freedom” (Nonviolence: the Only Road to Freedom, 91).
Quote: In “Nonviolence: the Only Road to Freedom,” King stated he was “convinced for practical as well as moral reasons, nonviolence offers the only road to freedom” (91).
Paraphrase of a document’s content or information taken from it: King always held that using nonviolence was the most ethical and practical way to promote social justice (Nonviolence: the Only Road to Freedom, 91).
WRITING RULES & TIPS: Write clearly, understandably, and grammatically. Write in complete sentences and use paragraphs. Write in Past Tense about the past. Correct spelling is required. All essays should have a clear Introduction (including thesis), Body, and Conclusion.
PROOFREADcarefully to catch and eliminate careless. OOPS–errors!
GRADING CRITERIA:
Each essay is worth up to 60 points, based on
1) how well and fully the essay addresses the issues in the Question,
2) how skillfully it chooses and presents relevant information from the primary documents, and
3) how well it references the documentary sources.
Up to 10 points is based specifically on the essay’s writing standards.
