Malcom X and MLK: Thoughts for Today's World

Join author and Associate Professor of African American Literature & Culture at the University of Pittsburgh, Michael E. Sawyer to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X. These two men were contemporaries in the struggle for basic human and civil rights for African Americans in the late 20th century. Both men died at the hands of assassins just as their ideas individually turned toward a stance of world-wide struggle for the oppressed instead on concerns within the borders of this country. As we move through the 21st century, one might wonder what they would think of the state of race relations today. This discussion will give us an opportunity to clarify the arguments of MLK and Malcolm X and explore their utility for our current moment.

Dr. Sawyer is the co-editor of The Journal of French & Francophone Philosophy and author of An Africana Philosophy of Temporality: Homo Liminalis & Black Minded: The Political Philosophy of Malcolm X. He is the Director of Graduate Studies, Electus Faculty Fellow, Fredrick Honors College English Department and Faculty Affiliate, Department of Africana Studies at The University of Pittsburgh.