A Comparison of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in the Black And
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A Comparison of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in the Black and Mainstream Press, 1955-2011 Daniel Cruden A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Victoria University of Wellington 2014 ii iii Abstract Most historians of the black protest movement claim that the mainstream media misrepresented Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as opposing figures, without detailing how the media achieved this, how these representations influenced King and Malcolm X’s posthumous media images, or how African-American media representations of the pair differed from mainstream representations. In order to understand how this misrepresentation came to be, and what its implications were for memory of the two after their deaths, this thesis examines the representation of King and Malcolm X in mainstream and African-American newspapers from the beginnings of their public careers until 2011. Newspapers drew on their pre-existing views of American race relations to evaluate the importance of King and Malcolm X. During their lifetimes newspapers selectively conveyed the ideologies of both men, embracing King’s leadership while distrusting Malcolm X. After their deaths, newspapers sanctified King and discussed him extensively, often confining his significance to the battle against legal segregation in the South. Newspapers gave Malcolm X less attention at first, but rehabilitated him later, beginning with African-American newspapers. The failure of the black protest movement to end racial disparities in standards of living, combined with King’s appropriation by the mainstream media, paved the way for much greater attention to Malcolm X by the late 1980s. By this time, newspapers represented King and Malcolm X as politically compatible, but continued to give them distinct personas that still affect public images of African-American leaders, such as Barack Obama, to this day. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................v List of Abbreviations...................................................................................................vi Introduction..................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: “Two Ways”.......................................................................................15 Chapter Two: Mourning to Memory.......................................................................37 Chapter Three: Converging Politics; Contrasting Personalities...........................57 Conclusion...................................................................................................................83 Bibliography...............................................................................................................87 Appendix...................................................................................................................105 v Acknowledgements My interest in this topic was sparked by an Honours course in American history taken by Dr. Peter Field at the University of Canterbury. I will always appreciate Peter’s enthusiasm, and his support in my decision to pursue this topic further. I would also like to thank Peter’s colleague Dr. Stephen Hardman for his advice in the early stages of formulating this topic, and for his feedback on earlier drafts. My parents, John Cruden and Sue Mitchell, provided an inexhaustible source of support in many forms: money, proofreading, baking, and unqualified sympathy being the first that spring to mind. I hope that fifteen months of unquestioningly supporting a son in postgraduate study does not become another fifteen unquestioningly supporting a son who cannot decide what to do with the resultant degree. The VUW History postgraduate community proved a supportive scholarly environment, and it has been a pleasure to study beside every single one of its members. I am particularly indebted to Simon Judkins, Grace Millar, Florence Baggett, and Matthew Vink for their help and feedback in the last stages. I was lucky to have Dr. Steve Behrendt as an interim supervisor for the final two weeks, as his advice proved very helpful in getting through the final stretch. Finally, and most importantly, I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Dolores Janiewski, for her advice, support, constructive criticism, and her extensive knowledge on this topic – and many other topics as well. Dolores was meticulous in her feedback, insightful in her advice, and always exceedingly generous with her time. If she considers the time she spent on me a wise investment, I will consider this thesis a triumph. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the patience, calmness, and general all-round sterling work of my laptop over the past fifteen months, especially for not turning against me even as I was hurling pens, verbal abuse, and empty Red Bull cans at it at 1 am last night. May we never fight again. vi List of abbreviations AC....................................................................................................Atlanta Constitution ADW.................................................................................................Atlanta Daily World BW.....................................................................................................Birmingham World CD.......................................................................................................Chicago Defender LAPD.............................................................................Los Angeles Police Department LAS..................................................................................................Los Angeles Sentinel LAT.....................................................................................................Los Angeles Times NAACP..........................National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NYAN...................................................................................New York Amsterdam News NYT.........................................................................................................New York Times PBS.....................................................................................Public Broadcasting Service WP.........................................................................................................Washington Post 1 Introduction In early 2008, American presidential candidate Barack Obama – the first African American with a significant chance of winning the presidency – nearly had his chance of winning the Democratic Party’s nomination derailed by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. In video footage aired by all major television outlets and quoted in major print media, Wright, angry at the persistence of American racism, urged his congregation to sing “God damn America”. Wright also quoted Malcolm X, and claimed that the September 11 attacks were a case of “chickens coming home to roost”.1 For someone seeking to become America’s first black president, an association with Wright was undesirable, and the controversy presented Obama with a dilemma. He obviously could not say anything that would imply he shared Wright’s beliefs, but given pre-existing fears on the part of some African Americans that he was not “black enough” to keep their support, nor could Obama deny his race. Obama responded to the Wright controversy in a speech that sought to explain black anger without defending it, and to situate himself as heir to a civil rights movement that brought both black and white Americans together.2 As Wright represented an angry response to white supremacy, reminiscent of Malcolm X, Obama responded by associating himself with the conciliatory side, represented by Martin Luther King, Jr. As the most recognisable leader of the black protest movement from the 1950s and 1960s, King provided a safer image than the radical one offered by Malcolm X. By channelling King and the civil rights movement, Obama turned his racial identity, which had provided an obstacle, into an advantage. This thesis examines the challenges facing African Americans who aspire to national leadership by investigating mainstream and black newspaper representations of King and Malcolm X from the late 1950s to 2011. It traces the role of these newspapers in 1 Roland Martin, ‘The full story behind Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 sermon’, CNN, 21 March 2008, http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/the-full-story-behind-rev-jeremiah- wrights-911-sermon/, accessed 3/6/13; Martin, The full story behind Wright’s “God Damn America” sermon, CNN, 21 March 2008, http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/the-full- story-behind-wright%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cgod-damn-america%E2%80%9D-sermon/, accessed 3/6/13. 2 Barack Obama, ‘A More Perfect Union’, 18 March 2008, American Rhetoric, http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobamaperfectunion.htm, accessed 13/6/13. 2 representing King and Malcolm X as opposing figures. It sheds light on how the media imbued the two with distinct personas after their deaths, even as historians increasingly depicted the two as fundamentally similar. It shows that newspapers endorsed King’s leadership during his lifetime, at the expense of Malcolm X’s, largely due to King’s careful adherence to nonviolence. Comparing the mainstream press with black newspapers, the thesis shows how African-American media viewed both King and Malcolm X as important figures for African Americans, even while the