Integrationism vs. Separatism

The author of the book, James Cone, argues that King and Malcolm X had two distinct and contrasting philosophies of racial justice and argues that both had advantages and disadvantages. King advanced the philosophy of integrationism. Integrationism holds that racial justice is achieved when blacks are integrated into the wider white society as equals and treated with equal dignity. Cone argues that King's upbringing disposed him to integrationism because he grew up in the south, where Christianity was strong amongst blacks, and because of his middle-class experience and his liberal Protestant education. King's philosophy of nonviolence also derived from his circumstances and was appropriate for activism in the south.

Malcolm X, in contrast, advocated a philosophy of separatism and Black Nationalism. Separatism held that whites were the enemies of blacks and could not be reconciled with the black community. Blacks must separate culturally and geographically from...