Million Man March

A historic gathering of African American men participated in the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1995, to build political power and community together, as well as demand political rights from legislators. The march surpassed the attendance of 200,000 during the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Speakers at the march included civil rights advocates such as Rosa Parks, Benjamin Chavis, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Joseph Lowery, and Dick Gregory. The gathering also included the poet Maya Angelou and the musician Stevie Wonder, both of whom encouraged the attendees of the march to bring their capacity to build strong communities to their local areas. Speakers focused on the message of self-respect and dignity, as well as attention to issues of racism, addiction, and voting rights.

President Bill Clinton was supportive of the march, and he urged U.S. citizens to clean their houses of racism in honor of the historic event. The president also reflected some of the controversy that surrounded the lead organizer of the march, Louis Farrakhan, who had been criticized for fostering divisions within and outside the African American community, in addition to holding alleged anti-Semitic and sexist beliefs. The march also received criticism for the strong religious themes and a lack of radical action on the day of the event. Despite these controversies, the Million Man March proved to be successful, with over one and a half million African American men registering to vote after the march concluded. There was disagreement on the actual number of participants on the march, with the organizers estimating between 1.5 and 2 million and the park police placing attendance at 400,000. After a crowd recount was demanded, the park police placed a final attendance estimate at 837,000.

Aside from the discrepancies about attendance numbers, the Million Man March raised awareness of the most important issues facing African American men in the United States. The march also provided an important venue for African Americans to protest the Republicans' 1994 “Contract with America,” which they criticized as slashing budgets for critical social programs such as education, housing, welfare, and Medicaid. Phi Beta Sigma, a historically black fraternity, was a cosponsor of the march, providing housing [Page 960]and meeting space for organizers of the march at their Washington, D.C., office. The Million Man March did not end as a one-time event. The march's mission and purpose inspired a campaign called the Millions More Movement. This movement seeks to uphold and continue the values and vision of the attendees of the Million Man March. The Millions More Movement lists the following goals as essential to its work: unity, spiritual values, education, political power, reparations, prison-industrial complex reform, health, artistic and cultural development, and peace.