|
It
has been nine years since Minister Louis Farrakhan hosted the largest
demonstration ever in Washington, D.C., asking one million Black men to take
charge of their own fate. Now, Minister Farrakhan has called for the Million Man
March, part II, on the 10-year anniversary of the historic event.
 |
|
The
Historic Million Man March, 1995 |
| |
| |
Did you know?
The 1995 Million Man March was the first ever public
march to provide an independent Financial Audit of its operations.
View audit report.
|
| |
|
"The Million Man
March not only served as an international wake-up call, it also spawned
the Million Woman, Million Family, Million Moms, Million Youth, Million
Workers and Million Reparations marches in an unprecedented succession
of grassroots calls for action."
-Rev. Willie F. Wilson |
| |
| |
|
Very little is
known about the women who played major roles in making the Million
Man March a huge success. From the vision statement to the program
to everything in between, contrary to popular opinion, women were
right there from start to finish. |
| |
| |
The call for Adoptions
Following the 1995 Million Man March, The National Association of
Black Social Workers reported a flood of 13,000 applications to adopt
Black children. |
| |
| |
The political impact
One and a half million Black men registered to vote in the months
following the March, leading David Bositis of the Joint Center for
Economic Studies to remark, “In reviewing the sharp increase in the
black male vote, I might find it highly implausible that there was
another factor that rivaled the Million Man March in bringing about this
change.” |
| |
| |
The timing couldn’t be better. The condition of many Black men in America is
still dire, and the re-election of President George Bush has left many Blacks
realizing that we must depend on ourselves, not the government, to better our
condition.
Since that first march on Oct. 16, 1995, there have been Million Woman, Youth
and Family marches, in addition to many other offshoots tapping into the popular
name, like the Million Mom March and the recent Million Worker March.
We came to Washington on that fateful day, not to petition government for a
civil rights bill or a handout, but to take responsibility for ourselves. The
spirit of that day was like nothing I had ever experienced, or have experienced
since. I marched down to the National Mall from my college campus with 5,000
other students. When I reached the stage area on the steps of the Capitol and
looked out into a sea of Black men, many who stood for at least 10 hours, I held
back tears. I knew this day would forever cause a change, if not in the world,
certainly in me.
At the conclusion of the march, the throngs of men repeated a pledge given by
Minister Farrakhan, to be responsible and active in improving ourselves and our
community. After the march, I wrote an article explaining my commitment to take
the pledge seriously. Since the march, I got married and have remained so. I
have two daughters, and I direct a nonprofit that serves youth coming out of the
juvenile justice system, nearly all of them young Black men.
Many of my friends were similarly moved by the Million Man March to come back
home and make a change. One, a former pilot for United Airlines, came home and
decided to start his own internet company—he currently runs one of the largest
Black-owned internet service providers in the country. Another friend, a former
classmate at Howard University, also decided to start his own firm, so he could
spend more time with his family. He was an engineer for a Washington, D.C.,
energy company. Now, his own computer consulting business is thriving, along
with his family.
Many others across the country took the pledge given that day seriously. The men
were asked to register to vote, join an organization, adopt a Black child. After
the march, a reported 1.7 million Black males were added to the voter
registration rolls. Organizational memberships skyrocketed—the NAACP, churches
and mosques reported huge increases after the march. The adoption of Black
children increased significantly.
Others criticized the march: There wasn’t a specific demand on government; there
wasn’t enough follow-up; Minister Farrakhan shouldn’t have traveled abroad
afterward. But the purpose wasn’t political. The purpose was for Black men to
take responsibility for their own actions and to help develop their own
communities, and to atone for our lack of responsibility.
Forty-two percent of all Black boys have failed at least one grade, according to
the Twenty-First Century Foundation, a Black philanthropic organization in New
York that has launched an initiative to serve Black boys. The foundation also
found that “in 2002, one in four African American males were idle (unemployed)
all year long.”
In California, it is seven times more likely for a Black man to be in a state
penitentiary than in a state university. The 2000 census revealed that one in 17
Black men in California was incarcerated, compared with one out of 114 White
men.
Add that to a myriad of social issues, including alarmingly disproportionate
AIDS rates and prostate cancer in Blacks.
In an op-ed on the quality of life for Black people, New York Times columnist
Bob Herbert recently concluded that “it’s just wrong to allow many (Black)
Americans to remain in a state of social and economic degradation without
attempting to alter the conditions responsible for their suffering.”
This is why I will be back in Washington on October
15, 2005. The time is right, the need is great and the opportunity is ripe for
change.
The timing couldn’t be better. The condition of many Black men in America is
still dire, and the re-election of President George Bush has left many Blacks
realizing that we must depend on ourselves, not the government, to better our
condition.
(Pacific News Service contributor David Muhammad directs the
Oakland, Calif.-based Mentoring Center, a nonprofit organization that serves
youth coming out of juvenile halls. Photo: 1995 Million
Man March by Jabril Muhammad)
|
