by Mychal Denzel Smith
It has since been romanticized, revered, criticized, satirized, and emulated, but 15 years ago the Million Man March represented for many an all too rare moment of solidarity among black men from across America. On October 16, 1995, the Million Man March, organized by Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, was held in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall, site of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The goal of the march was to call forth "a million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to meet in Washington on a day of atonement."
The all-day affair featured performances and speeches from various community and national leaders, including Dick Gregory, Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Rosa Parks, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, Marion Barry, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Cornel West, Dorothy Height, and Farrakhan himself. Each of the speakers stressed the call for a "day of atonement," a phrase that has since become a second name for the march, emphasizing the desire for black men to abandon destructive behaviors and re-dedicate themselves to being stalwarts and leaders in their communities.
This sentiment was eloquently echoed in the speech of then 14-year-old Ayinde Jean-Baptiste (who went on to become a community organizer and motivational speaker) who said at the time: "You must change today so that tomorrow may dare to be different, and when you have fought back, and regained your pride, when you have won some battles, when you are able to tell the stories of your heroism, when you can pass on to your young the tradition of struggle through examples of your having stood up for a better tomorrow."
At the culmination of the day's events, Farrakhan asked all those in attendance to join him in taking a pledge which included vows to "strive to love my brother as I love myself" and "never again use the 'b-word' to describe any female. But particularly my own black sister."
The day, for those men who partook in the march, was an electrifying experience. "There was just excitement in the air," David Hannah, a Vietnam veteran who attended after being persuaded to do so by a group of friends, says, "It was just amazing to see so many black guys coming together for a cause." "All the speakers were great," according to Hannah but it was "the one-on-one conversations" among the men in the crowd that allowed for sharing of stories and moments of bonding that stuck with him the most.
Marcus Smith, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, who was a second grader at the time of the march, recalls being impacted by the enormous outpouring and sheer number of attendees. "Even then I knew it was something special seeing all the people," Smith says, "Me, my brothers and our father got to see it together. It was a great moment to see as a child." For him, it was an event that showed what was possible for black people. "It was that moment of black solidarity that is rare in modern times," according to Smith who feels that the visual beauty of the march has had a lasting impact on him.
Read the Full Essay @ theGrio
It has since been romanticized, revered, criticized, satirized, and emulated, but 15 years ago the Million Man March represented for many an all too rare moment of solidarity among black men from across America. On October 16, 1995, the Million Man March, organized by Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, was held in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall, site of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The goal of the march was to call forth "a million sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to meet in Washington on a day of atonement."
The all-day affair featured performances and speeches from various community and national leaders, including Dick Gregory, Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Rosa Parks, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, Marion Barry, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Cornel West, Dorothy Height, and Farrakhan himself. Each of the speakers stressed the call for a "day of atonement," a phrase that has since become a second name for the march, emphasizing the desire for black men to abandon destructive behaviors and re-dedicate themselves to being stalwarts and leaders in their communities.
This sentiment was eloquently echoed in the speech of then 14-year-old Ayinde Jean-Baptiste (who went on to become a community organizer and motivational speaker) who said at the time: "You must change today so that tomorrow may dare to be different, and when you have fought back, and regained your pride, when you have won some battles, when you are able to tell the stories of your heroism, when you can pass on to your young the tradition of struggle through examples of your having stood up for a better tomorrow."
At the culmination of the day's events, Farrakhan asked all those in attendance to join him in taking a pledge which included vows to "strive to love my brother as I love myself" and "never again use the 'b-word' to describe any female. But particularly my own black sister."
The day, for those men who partook in the march, was an electrifying experience. "There was just excitement in the air," David Hannah, a Vietnam veteran who attended after being persuaded to do so by a group of friends, says, "It was just amazing to see so many black guys coming together for a cause." "All the speakers were great," according to Hannah but it was "the one-on-one conversations" among the men in the crowd that allowed for sharing of stories and moments of bonding that stuck with him the most.
Marcus Smith, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, who was a second grader at the time of the march, recalls being impacted by the enormous outpouring and sheer number of attendees. "Even then I knew it was something special seeing all the people," Smith says, "Me, my brothers and our father got to see it together. It was a great moment to see as a child." For him, it was an event that showed what was possible for black people. "It was that moment of black solidarity that is rare in modern times," according to Smith who feels that the visual beauty of the march has had a lasting impact on him.
Read the Full Essay @ theGrio
