Million Man March remembered

WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of African-Americans and other minorities gathered on the National Mall yesterday to mark the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March and proclaim their determination to fight for economic freedom, affordable healthcare, and a more just America.

From sunrise to sunset, people young and old sang along to gospel choirs, danced to hip-hop music, and participated in a religious and political revival billed as the Millions More Movement, a 21st-century version of the historic marches of the Civil Rights era.

''This is a stop on a journey. This is a stimulus for the bigger struggle," said the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in an interview. ''Ten years ago we didn't have as much political power. Now we have it. We must exercise it. We must build a coalition to fight racism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Arabism. We need to change the Congress in '06."

The event, organized by the Nation of Islam and its leader, minister Louis Farrakhan, was designed to commemorate the 1995 gathering that called for a million black men to march on Washington and rededicate themselves to their families and their communities.

But unlike a decade ago, this time women and other minorities were invited to participate, along with more mainstream leaders, politicians, musicians, and activists. They represented an array of minority groups and causes, including gay activist Keith Boykin, president of the National Black Justice Coalition, who some feared would be rebuffed by Farrakhan's followers. Their message was just as diverse.

Indeed, the list of grievances aired in front of the US Capitol read like a laundry list of society's ills.

Organizers accused the government of abandoning New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities following Hurricane Katrina and demanded a fair plan to rebuild devastated communities. Activists, media personalities, and academics called for a new battle against poverty, ending police brutality, and eradicating the racism and political disenfranchisement that still blankets large segments of America. They called for affordable healthcare and a revitalized educational system for America's children.

''Katrina showed us the neglect of the government of the United States of America -- the failure of the state, the local, and the federal government," Farrakhan told the crowd, calling for African-Americans, Native Americans, other minorities, and poor citizens to organize together. ''We charge America with criminal neglect."

Thousands lined the traffic circles and parks along the Mall and around the Capitol grounds as hundreds of D.C. police officers and Farrakhan's security guards kept the crowds moving efficiently.

Participants listened to speakers who called for an end to the military deployment in Iraq -- ''Mr. Bush, send the troops back home," sang Haiti-born musician Wyclif Jean -- and a call to action for blacks and other minorities to go home to their communities and turn their anger into activism.

After the event, some specialists were invited to craft public policy guidelines and collaborate on a book tentatively titled ''The Black Agenda," which will serve as a ''roadmap for black Americans to address the problems in their communities," said Linda Boyd, a spokeswoman for the march.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a former Democratic candidate for president, said blacks still suffer from discrimination like their forebears who marched for voting rights and desegregation in the 20th century. He told the crowd that while the ''Jim Crow" laws in the South that disenfranchised blacks have been removed, there is a modern incarnation, which he called ''James Crow Jr. Esq."

''He is a little more polished, but he is just as wicked and just as dangerous," Sharpton said. ''We didn't come here for fun. We come to gas up for a long struggle."

But many speakers also criticized the black community, saying it should stand up and take a more active role in solving its own problems. Mothers of black teenagers killed by urban violence called on all African-Americans to ''take responsibility."

Others came in solidarity. ''I'm a minority, too," said Florecita Palomo, 60, who traveled with her husband from Martinsburg, W.Va. ''They included other minorities and women this time."

Jane Sullivan of Boston came to protest the war and hold the government accountable for its response to Katrina. ''They left them to fend for themselves."

Authorities did not provide an estimate of the turnout. But participants said it was not the numbers that mattered.

''African-Americans are in desperate need of financial and economic empowerment," said Sabir Muhammad, who traveled to Washington from Newark, N.J. ''We are coming together to exchange ideas, unify, and build."