This History U course examines the lives and legacies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Course Instructor: Professor Peniel Joseph, University of Texas at Austin
Eligibility: High school students
Image Source: Marion S. Trikosko, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Washington DC, 1964 (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Divison, 92522562)
History U
Free for high school students
This History U course examines the lives and legacies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. These pillars of the Civil Rights Movement are often portrayed as opposites. While it is true that their rhetoric and methods differed, they are less dissimilar than the popular narrative of their lives allows. By looking simultaneously at both men as they battled White supremacy and the oppression of African Americans, we will highlight their similarities and their influence on one another and the Civil Rights Movement.
The views expressed in this course are those of Dr. Peniel Joseph.
Corey Winchester explains what you will learn in this course.
Peniel Joseph, Professor of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Peniel Joseph is a professor of public affairs and the Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He has written extensively about African American history and the Civil Rights Movement. His 2014 book on Stokely Carmichael, Stokely: A Life, has been called the definitive biography of the prominent civil rights organizer and Black Panther Party member. Joseph’s 2020 book, The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., is a dual biography that re-analyzes popular perceptions of the two figures.
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This course discusses the experiences of enslaved people through the use of audio files, diaries, letters, actions, and silences.