Chapter 5: We Must Love Our White Brothers Summary and Analysis

Perhaps the primary differences between King and Malcolm were religious and they represented two different religious traditions in the African-American Community—between Christianity and Islam. Black Christians tended to be integrationists, whereas black Muslims tended to be nationalists. However, Christianity was dominant and the Nation of Islam was largely confined to the North and the urban poor.

King was a Christian in the black Baptist tradition and was deeply influenced by Protestant liberal theology. He believed America had failed to live up to its destiny. King's faith was based on his resonance with suffering, freedom and justice and rejected the view that God believed whites were better than blacks. God wanted to make race relations better and blacks must have faith in the black experience as a Christian...