Benjamin X

At first glance it would appear that Malcolm X and Benjamin Franklin would have nothing in common what so ever. Even if you take the fact that over a century separates their existence out of the equation, Benjamin Franklin having died on April 17, 1790 and Malcolm X being born 135 years later on May 19, 1925, Your still left what seems to be nothing in common. Malcolm X was a strong and incredibly controversial civil rights leader; Ben Franklin is touted as one of America’s founding fathers. Malcolm X was outraged by the acts of the white man; Ben Franklin was a white man. But wait both fought to stop the injustices done to their people did they not? But more so these two seemingly disconnected people are strongly connected by how they were educated.

Both Benjamin Franklin and Malcolm X started off with some all be it ill education, Ben being afforded slightly more opportunity then Malcolm. However they were both unsatisfied by the meager education they were granted and both worked tirelessly during any free time to satisfy their educational thirst. Strangely although separated by over 100 years they both bettered themselves by the same means of examining and copying someone else’s work. Malcolm spent his days pouring through dictionary writing, reading, learning, and rereading all it had to offer in his pursuit of better ways to express his views. Ben spent his days pouring through the third volume of the spectator; a piece he had come to love for its superb writing style, A style he one day wished to achieve. He would read a passage and copy down little notes, and then when the passage was out of his mind he would take his notes and try to rewrite the passage as eloquently as it was written before. Comparing his work to the original pointed were the book succeeded and he fell short, and so he would try again aiming to rectify his errors. Both were also very big into debate and used it as a way to practice what they were teaching themselves and better express their thoughts.

Malcolm X and Benjamin Franklin did in fact live to very different lives at two very different times but they are not as different as this would suggest. They were both educated men driven by a quest for more than they were given and a passion to learn. You can say that they were different and not be wrong, but it would be more accurate to say that their differences were only skin deep.