|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Editorial
Editorial Archives
Friday, January 28, 2005; Page 10
Too Many Millions?
There was no better place in the world for a Black person to be on October 16, 1995 than in Washington, D.C. The site was monumental: buses dropping off fathers and sons at hotels, brothers debating the plight of the African diaspora while riding Metro and school-aged males being excused from classes to participate in one of the most important marches in human history. That day reminded all of Black America that we could relive the glory of the days experienced by our parents; we didn’t have a King but we had Farrakhan.
The Million Man March was so much more than a day for men, for the whole Black family structure was affected. Women prayed for their husbands and sons to return better than they left and promised to take care of the home until they returned from what many deemed a rites of passage for the Black man.
So many tried to repeat that moment in time and so many failed. There were countless Million Something marches that barely turned out hundreds. And this is perhaps because that day was by no means about numbers. We realized that when the National Park Service attempted to undermine what we witnessed with our own eyes and on our own television screens; we realized it was really about unity and hope.
Ten years later Louis Farrakhan hopes to do once again what many didn’t think he could do in the first place. The man that many would call the most powerful Black leader alive today believes that unity will serve as a “weapon of mass construction” that will allow us to “repair our condition.” His insistence on self-determination for Black Americans will be an umbrella theme for all future marches.
But how many more Days of Atonement will we need? How many more times will we have to gather on the lawn? |
|
|
|