MLK’s protected childhood allowed for optimism and his defense against violence, while Malcolm X’s parental trauma fueled defiant truth-telling and violence.

MLK’s nonviolence was instilled by his church community, whereas aggression arose from Malcolm X’s beliefs and pain.

MLK’s intellectualism, socioeconomic status, and moral beliefs equipped him to defend against the harms of racial injustice, while Malcolm X’s firsthand racial trauma and incarceration sharpened his critiques and approach.

MLK used privilege to appeal to people’s conscience diplomatically, but Malcolm X spoke from the margins and played on people’s anger.