Take a photo of a barcode or cover
105 reviews for:
The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Peniel E. Joseph
4.19 AVERAGE
105 reviews for:
The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Peniel E. Joseph
4.19 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Great perspective on the dynamic between these two men and the intersecting narratives between and among their movements and messages.
A very boring book about very interesting people.
Gripping, infuriating, inspiring, heart-breaking, hopeful.
There's no way I can do justice to the amount of eloquence born out of serious research that this book represents, but I can say that instead of a vague notion of the pop-culture icon identity of these two figures, I am much better acquainted with the historical Malcolm and Martin.
I appreciate that enough time has passed for the similarities in goals to outweigh the contentions in method in viewing the two figures.
It's more a history than a dual biography, but does very well in focusing in on the contributions to anti-racist, anti-colonial activism, the seeking of economic justice, the historic fight for civil, human, rights, not just in America but for people of colour globally, that both men fought for.
I also appreciated how going year by year chronologically through each man's contributions to the anti-racist and civil rights movements gave insight into the work of fellow Black activists, mentors and mentees for the two men.
I will say it's clear that religion bolstered their connection to communities and social movements, but it continually made my atheist self uncomfortable to read, especially as it influenced the two men in their treatment of women. You see improvements later in their life after extensive work around female activists, but the author is clear about how much was left to be desired in including gender equality in what was being fought for.
I find myself less inclined to read a biography of each after this intensive run down of their periods of activism, but more interested in picking up collections of their writing/speeches (though I gather the original source of much of King's writing is under debate?).
Of course, I'd also like to do some reading about Black activism in Canada. First up: books on Viola Desmond.
⚠️Racism, racist violence, racially motivated murder
There's no way I can do justice to the amount of eloquence born out of serious research that this book represents, but I can say that instead of a vague notion of the pop-culture icon identity of these two figures, I am much better acquainted with the historical Malcolm and Martin.
I appreciate that enough time has passed for the similarities in goals to outweigh the contentions in method in viewing the two figures.
It's more a history than a dual biography, but does very well in focusing in on the contributions to anti-racist, anti-colonial activism, the seeking of economic justice, the historic fight for civil, human, rights, not just in America but for people of colour globally, that both men fought for.
I also appreciated how going year by year chronologically through each man's contributions to the anti-racist and civil rights movements gave insight into the work of fellow Black activists, mentors and mentees for the two men.
I will say it's clear that religion bolstered their connection to communities and social movements, but it continually made my atheist self uncomfortable to read, especially as it influenced the two men in their treatment of women. You see improvements later in their life after extensive work around female activists, but the author is clear about how much was left to be desired in including gender equality in what was being fought for.
I find myself less inclined to read a biography of each after this intensive run down of their periods of activism, but more interested in picking up collections of their writing/speeches (though I gather the original source of much of King's writing is under debate?).
Of course, I'd also like to do some reading about Black activism in Canada. First up: books on Viola Desmond.
⚠️Racism, racist violence, racially motivated murder
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
In his book, "The Sword and The Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.", Peniel E. Joseph, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), challenges the stereotypes we have grown up with about Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
Martin Luther King Jr. is often stereotyped as a peaceful, nonviolent civil rights leader who advocated for integration and equality through love and passive resistance. Malcolm X is commonly stereotyped as the militant civil rights activist who promoted separatism and self-defense in the struggle for racial equality and advocated for black pride and empowerment. Malcolm X often carries a perception in collective memory as a more radical or confrontational figure, and maybe even dangerous.
Oversimplified portrayals of these historical figures can obscure their true selves. By comparing the lives of King and Malcolm X in a dual biography that covers their lifetimes, focusing on their involvement in the Civil Rights movement, Johnson demonstrates how these two individuals, as well as those who were involved in their movements, aimed to achieve a common objective: securing fairness, justice, dignity and respect for an oppressed community. Johnson's book offers a fresh perspective on the Civil Rights movement.
I highly recommend this book to those looking to enhance their understanding of the Black American experience.
Martin Luther King Jr. is often stereotyped as a peaceful, nonviolent civil rights leader who advocated for integration and equality through love and passive resistance. Malcolm X is commonly stereotyped as the militant civil rights activist who promoted separatism and self-defense in the struggle for racial equality and advocated for black pride and empowerment. Malcolm X often carries a perception in collective memory as a more radical or confrontational figure, and maybe even dangerous.
Oversimplified portrayals of these historical figures can obscure their true selves. By comparing the lives of King and Malcolm X in a dual biography that covers their lifetimes, focusing on their involvement in the Civil Rights movement, Johnson demonstrates how these two individuals, as well as those who were involved in their movements, aimed to achieve a common objective: securing fairness, justice, dignity and respect for an oppressed community. Johnson's book offers a fresh perspective on the Civil Rights movement.
I highly recommend this book to those looking to enhance their understanding of the Black American experience.
Sort of fun, sort of obligatory reading for my senior thesis I have at the end of spring. I think the author's argument about the two of these figures influencing each other during the height of their political activism, right up until their deaths, was proven many times over. It was interesting to see how King's words shared many of the same qualities of self-determination and economic independence for black people that Malcolm X's speeches displayed during the year or so of his life after he had departed the Nation of Islam. Their aims for black people were ultimately the same but the methods for achieving those goals were different. At one point I felt as though the author's exuberance for the life and words of Malcolm X overshadowed the due diligence that King's life and works deserved, but the last chapters proved that he had just as much respect for King as he did for Malcolm. I might do a longer/more structured/more detailed review of this in the future, in order to better curate my thoughts about this book for the future, but I've got a lot to read and review from here on out. Props to me for finishing reading this on MLK Jr. Day, ha.
Every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day we see the circulation of quotes from him and anecdotes about his life in celebration of his legacy. Growing up, I was only ever given a surface level understanding of him which didn’t really mean much to my young brain besides the assumption that racism was a thing of the past and that I could stay home from school and play video games.
With recent events in our country surrounding questions of racism and social and economic injustice, I’ve become painfully aware of how little I have ever understood about our nation’s history of civil rights. I’ve recently heard and read several ideas recently put forward about MLK, citing him as an example of the “right” way to protest, or cherry-picking words from his more famous speeches to justify the opinion that institutional racism is inconsequential or nonexistent. It is often convenient to present an uncomplicated narrative of a historical figure to complement one’s personal worldview; as a religious person I see this happen frequently.
When the BLM protests began last summer, I often came across comparisons between MLK Jr. and Malcom X, nearly always citing the former as the successful and peaceful and heroic and the latter as a failure with a dangerous worldview. As I was left to stew on this with little personal knowledge about the nuanced lives of either of these men, you can imagine my interest when I heard about this book. I recommend it highly to those interested in a digestible history of both of these men and the Civil Rights movement and how the movements of our time are stark reflections of it and of both of their legacies.
Key takeaway: MLK Jr. and Malcom X were not so diametrically opposed in thought or agenda as modern, oversimplified narratives might suggest, especially towards the end of their lives (both of which were taken from them, you’ll remember). Many of their ideas and radical calls for change, both on an individual and systemic level, overlapped and complemented one another, even though they sparred publicly and privately about methods to achieve them.
In honor of both of their legacies, I want to share a quote from MLK Jr. that would likely have made Malcom X proud and that profoundly touches on current issues of our time, following which I’ll share a quote from the final chapter of the aforementioned book:
“White America is seeking to keep the walls of segregation substantially intact while the evolution of society and the Negro's desperation is causing them to crumble. The white majority, unprepared and unwilling to accept radical structural change, is resisting and producing chaos while complaining that if there were no chaos orderly change would come...
... A profound judgment of today's riots was expressed by Victor Hugo a century ago. He said, 'If a soul is left in the darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.'
The policymakers of the white society have caused the darkness; they create discrimination; they structured slums; and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance and poverty. It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes. They are born of the greater crimes of the white society. When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also demand that the white man abide by law in the ghettos. Day-in and day-out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; and he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions for civic services. The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison. Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man. These are often difficult things to say but I have come to see more and more that it is necessary to utter the truth in order to deal with the great problems that we face in our society.”
— Martin Luther King Jr., “The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement”
“...Martin Luther King Jr. Day allowed America to bask in his dream, even as the nation stood further from fulfilling its mandate. King would not recognize himself in the uncomplicated, largely timid figure that much of the nation and the world celebrate today. The radical King who gathered an army of the poor to descend upon the nation’s capitol in defiance of critics, is airbrushed from history. The risk-taking King who defied a sitting President to protest a war is missing from our popular memory. The revolutionary King, who marched shoulder to shoulder with garbage workers, locked arms with Black Power militants, and lived in Chicago ghettos in an effort to stimulate social change, is forgotten. The King who proclaimed that America’s greatness remained ‘the right to protest for right’ has all but vanished, replaced by generic platitudes about freedom and justice.”
— Peniel E. Joseph
With recent events in our country surrounding questions of racism and social and economic injustice, I’ve become painfully aware of how little I have ever understood about our nation’s history of civil rights. I’ve recently heard and read several ideas recently put forward about MLK, citing him as an example of the “right” way to protest, or cherry-picking words from his more famous speeches to justify the opinion that institutional racism is inconsequential or nonexistent. It is often convenient to present an uncomplicated narrative of a historical figure to complement one’s personal worldview; as a religious person I see this happen frequently.
When the BLM protests began last summer, I often came across comparisons between MLK Jr. and Malcom X, nearly always citing the former as the successful and peaceful and heroic and the latter as a failure with a dangerous worldview. As I was left to stew on this with little personal knowledge about the nuanced lives of either of these men, you can imagine my interest when I heard about this book. I recommend it highly to those interested in a digestible history of both of these men and the Civil Rights movement and how the movements of our time are stark reflections of it and of both of their legacies.
Key takeaway: MLK Jr. and Malcom X were not so diametrically opposed in thought or agenda as modern, oversimplified narratives might suggest, especially towards the end of their lives (both of which were taken from them, you’ll remember). Many of their ideas and radical calls for change, both on an individual and systemic level, overlapped and complemented one another, even though they sparred publicly and privately about methods to achieve them.
In honor of both of their legacies, I want to share a quote from MLK Jr. that would likely have made Malcom X proud and that profoundly touches on current issues of our time, following which I’ll share a quote from the final chapter of the aforementioned book:
“White America is seeking to keep the walls of segregation substantially intact while the evolution of society and the Negro's desperation is causing them to crumble. The white majority, unprepared and unwilling to accept radical structural change, is resisting and producing chaos while complaining that if there were no chaos orderly change would come...
... A profound judgment of today's riots was expressed by Victor Hugo a century ago. He said, 'If a soul is left in the darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.'
The policymakers of the white society have caused the darkness; they create discrimination; they structured slums; and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance and poverty. It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes. They are born of the greater crimes of the white society. When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also demand that the white man abide by law in the ghettos. Day-in and day-out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; and he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions for civic services. The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison. Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man. These are often difficult things to say but I have come to see more and more that it is necessary to utter the truth in order to deal with the great problems that we face in our society.”
— Martin Luther King Jr., “The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement”
“...Martin Luther King Jr. Day allowed America to bask in his dream, even as the nation stood further from fulfilling its mandate. King would not recognize himself in the uncomplicated, largely timid figure that much of the nation and the world celebrate today. The radical King who gathered an army of the poor to descend upon the nation’s capitol in defiance of critics, is airbrushed from history. The risk-taking King who defied a sitting President to protest a war is missing from our popular memory. The revolutionary King, who marched shoulder to shoulder with garbage workers, locked arms with Black Power militants, and lived in Chicago ghettos in an effort to stimulate social change, is forgotten. The King who proclaimed that America’s greatness remained ‘the right to protest for right’ has all but vanished, replaced by generic platitudes about freedom and justice.”
— Peniel E. Joseph