Dreams and Nightmares: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Struggle for Black Equality in America (New Perspectives on the History of the South)

From original German text entitled GegenSpieler (Fischer Verlag, 2001) with parts rewritten for an American audience; large parts of the introduction and the final chapter are completely new--Provided by publisher. One man dreamed of a country united in true racial equality. Another saw this as a nightmare that served only the interest of wealthy whites. Both were sons of Baptist ministers. Both grew up to be icons of the civil rights movement. Integration versus separatism. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X have come to symbolize the two primary strands of black political thought during the civil rights movement, much as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had more than a half-century earlier. As Henry Louis Gates Jr. points out in his foreword, the parallels and divergences between the two men remain striking. Britta Waldschmidt-Nelson compares and contrasts these two giants in her fascinating dual biography. She offers a concise account of their lives, accomplishments, and challenges. In a crisp, fascinating narrative, she reveals the interconnectedness of their goals, their visions, and their legacies. Most provocative, she suggests what might have been, as their philosophies began to converge, were it not for a pair of assassins bullets. This engaging comparative biography contrasts the lives, politics, and philosophies of the two major figure of the American civil rights era, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Examining issues of integration, non-violence, Black power, and resistance, the volume explores the similarities and differences in the two leaders' beliefs and discusses ways in which they grew closer together towards the end of their lives. The work explores the complex synthesis of the effects of their differing tactics and philosophies on the subsequent movement. Public intellectual Henry Louis Gates Jr. provides a forward. Waldschmidt-Nelson is a professor of American history at the University of Munich. This volume is the English version of an original German edition published in 2000 entitled Martin Luther King-Malcolm X: Gegenspieler. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Chronology -- The American Nightmare : A Brief History Of Oppression -- Roots Of Rage, Sources Of Hope : Family And Religion In The Lives Of Martin Luther King, Jr. And Malcolm X -- Beloved Brothers Or Blue-eyed Devils : Disparate Visions In The Struggle For Equality -- From Civil Rights To Human Rights? Coming Together In The End? -- A Continuing Struggle : The Political And Cultural Legacy Of Martin Luther King, Jr. And Malcolm X. Britta Waldschmidt-nelson. From Original German Text Entitled Gegenspieler (fischer Verlag, 2001) With Parts Rewritten For An American Audience; Large Parts Of The Introduction And The Final Chapter Are Completely New--provided By Publisher. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Compares the lives and civil rights views of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X