The prominent leader of the civil rights movement who advocated for black nationalism was Malcolm X. He argued for black empowerment, self-defense, and the establishment of a separate nation for African Americans. Unlike other leaders who embraced integration, Malcolm X promoted the idea that African Americans should become economically independent and proud of their racial identity. His philosophies, which fiercely critiqued systemic racism, poverty, and social injustices, significantly influenced the civil rights discourse in the 1960s until his assassination in 1965.