In Advance of Million Family March, Mood Less Wary of Farrakhan, Intentions

Five years after hundreds of thousands of black men heeded the call of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and filled the National Mall for the Million Man March, a more inclusive Farrakhan is urging American families of all races and creeds to mark the day by gathering to “rise above their symbols.”

The mood is different in advance of Monday’s Million Family March, with less wariness about Farrakhan and his intentions.

“The change is in the broadness of my view,” Farrakhan said. “This means people may say this is a different Farrakhan . . . but maybe this is a Farrakhan we can embrace minus the fear and minus the trepidation.”

Bob Law, a New York organizer for both marches, sees another difference.

“It’s not the same kind of buzz on the street,” Law said. “There’s not the same kind of controversy. The energy--it isn’t the same.”

“The word on the street is not as strong as it was the first time, because it’s not new anymore,” said the Rev. T.L. Barrett of the Life Center Church of God in Christ in Chicago, who brought busloads of men from that city in 1995.

In the years since the Million Man March, there have been a Million Woman March in Philadelphia, a Million Youth March in Harlem, and a Million Mom March in Washington.

“There’s been a lot of events modeled on the Million Man March, and each event tries to improve on its predecessors,” said Benjamin Muhammad, former national director of the Million Man March and director of the Million Family March.

But no march since has had people talking like that first one, an outgrowth of previous men-only meetings.

Farrakhan and Muhammad--then known as Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.--called black men to Washington to focus on putting responsibility “for our condition and our families on our shoulders.”

That idea caused controversy.

“It was attacked by everybody,” Law said. “Politicians, black and white, were telling people not to go. Women were telling men not to go. A call to black men seemed to scare everybody, even some black people.”

Farrakhan’s leadership also caused an uproar. The Nation of Islam leader has drawn repeated criticism for inflammatory statements against whites and Jews.

Since then, however, he has softened his stance. He has invited people of all races and faiths to the Million Family March.

But the Million Man March “was not about the minister,” said Dorothy Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women, who said she just marveled at the assembly of black men.

“This was about an idea whose time had come,” she said. “The minister brought it forward, but it’s the people who are going to keep it alive.”

“It was not a protest,” said Law, who estimated that more than 1,000 buses came from New York for the march. “It was not an appeal to a government for a change. It was an appeal to the inner strength of black men. It put a request for change at the feet of black men and no one else.”

There were tangible results, Farrakhan said.

“No. 1, a reduction in crime. And, of course, the police and officials can take some credit, but I think since crime is really centered a lot in the black communities of America, the reduction in crime in the black community can directly be related to the Million Man March,” he said.

“[Also] 1.7 million new black male voters came on stream. And at the Million Man March, 25,000 young people who needed to be in homes . . . I’m very happy to announce that practically all of those 25,000 have found adoptive parents and now are in homes. We also have all kinds of businesses developing from that march.”

Another change brought about by the Million Man March was the end of official government counts of the people rallying between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol on the two-mile-long Washington Mall.

This came after the National Park Service and the march organizers battled over how many people participated.

The Park Service said the march drew 400,000 people. The Nation of Islam said 2 million were here. Congress told the Park Service to stop estimating crowd sizes.

“We’re going to let God do the counting,” Farrakhan said. “He knows how many people are there.”