On Saturday, Oct. 11, a 20-year commemoration and attempted repeat of the 1995 Million Man March occurred in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall where they are building the gigantic National African American History Museum and not far from the 30-foot Martin Luther King memorial statue.
This time, the gathering was a lot more diverse and eclectic than in 1995. Women decision-makers were very much present and accounted for; there were Native Americans in attendance; there were some Latinos, and there was an ecumenical group of Muslims and Christians. There was also a smattering of interested Whites, unlike at the first march.
Whether there was a million or more present is uncertain—it certainly did not seem like it. But there were lots and lots of people there, and with the added dimension of C-Span, and social media, it can be fairly safe to say that more than a million folk did observe at least part of the proceedings. But the affair was long—six hours—sometimes boring, and not always on point. It did demonstrate that Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam, along with several other co-conveners, could still call for and achieve another sustained crowd of mostly Black folk to again gather to show their combined feelings about what is happening to them in the USA.
In 1995, the most consistent emotion of the day was defiance and anger at still feeling in, but not really of, this country, in spite of our many labors.
In 2015, the overall mood seemed to be more frustration and a simmering unease because even with the miracle of an African American president, the intractableness of hostile cops, community blight, ever-increasing poverty and inequality, lousy schools, violent crime against each other, unemployment and underemployment, just seemed to loom even larger than ever. So, where was the plan to do something about all this once and for all?
Such a plan was not provided in 1995, and it wasn’t in 2015. Activists were to continue their activism, protesters their protests, and defiant ones, their defiance. We were not to give up, but there was still no sure way to victory offered.
The Nation of Islam did announce a merger with the Black Lives Matter Movement, and it urged all other serious activists to do the same.
Essentially, what was achieved, and was this trip worth it in the end? Having the gathering to share some of the success stories of communities since 1995, was impressive. There were many called up to the stage to testify. Their overall accounting of positive works completed and in play made the future appear less bleak, but those who articulated the problems that remained in our path were annoyingly graphic, so this gathering was no respite from the ongoing fray.
We were told that we are still to be the architects of our own fates, and we must invest enough time to train a new generation of young Black leaders (particularly in the glorious history of Black people), and we must remain clear-eyed and clear-minded in our analysis and planning. Those truisms again stood out from all the speechifying. But there was no overall plan provided—we must develop internal strategies specific to the areas of the country in which we live, and then share them.
Was it all worth it? Yes, as an accounting of where we are and where we need to be. No, as a vision statement of how to get to a different place, to higher ground.
The work continues and we now know there are many who deem the work important enough to continue it.
Professor David L. Horne is founder and executive director of PAPPEI, the Pan African Public Policy and Ethical Institute, which is a new 501(c)(3) pending community-based organization or non-governmental organization (NGO). It is the stepparent organization for the California Black Think Tank which still operates and which meets every fourth Friday.
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