He openly challenged the notions of Martin Luther King Jr.

The ideas of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) were the exact antithesis of those of Malcolm X. Malcolm X disagreed with MLK's call for nonviolence and integration, believing that the issues of black independence and identity were more urgent.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s multiracial, nonviolent policy was contested by Malcolm X, the most prominent Black nationalist in the nation, which helped pave the way for the theological and tactical disagreements that erupted inside the black liberation movement of the 1960s. Malcolm X made sporadic advances on King, which is not surprising considering his scathing criticism of King and support for racial segregation.

"Although we did not always agree on how to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put his finger on the existence of the problem and root of the problem," King wrote to Malcolm's widow, Betty Shabazz, after the civil rights activist's murder in 1965.