Learning about him helped to spur more curiosity about other figures and movements that I already knew about, but needed more info on (i.e. Garveyism). It also reinforced MLK's position, especially away from the mainstream perception.
MLK actually began to adopt some of Malcolm's positions and became a lot more nationalistic toward the end of his life. King acknowledged the limitations and failures of integration.
And that's the cool thing about their stories. They both began to meet somewhere in the middle in terms of their methods. Personally, Minister X was more right than wrong though. The amazing thing about Malcolm X is that even though his speeches and teachers were 50+ years ago they are still contemporary. The man could have been talking about 2013 America. Which is sad because it shows how very little things have changed. That's why I encourage black people to dig into their history to understand our present condition. You can't look to your enemy to teach you about your history.
