YES 51%
NO 48%
For many black men, October 16 is a self proclaimed holiday.
When I first heard the date of the rescheduled Martin Luther King Memorial Dedication was October 16, I wondered why of all days in the year they picked that one.
For many blacks across America, particularly men, October 16, 1995 was the most important day of their lives.
They converged on Washington D.C. from across the country to gather at the Lincoln Memorial at the calling of organizers of the Million Man March who sought to use the event as a publicity campaign aimed at combating what they perceived as the negative racial stereotypes in the American media and in popular culture.
Hundreds of thousands of African American men peacefully gathered on the Mall in Washington, D.C., with its mass of men stretching from the Capitol steps to the Washington Monument for a daylong rally promoting personal responsibility and racial solidarity.
The march was lead by a group of civil rights activists under the leadership of Dr. Benjamin Chavis. The organizers had hoped to inspire attendees and honored guests to move beyond “articulation of black grievances” to a state of spiritual healing. Speakers at the event structured their talks around three themes: atonement, reconciliation, and responsibility.
Many prominent speakers addressed the audience including Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King III, Betty Shabazz, Dorothy Height, Cornel West, Joseph Lowery, and Rev. Jereamiah Wright, to name a few. And, of course, Louis Farrakhan was invited to deliver the keynote address.
Many of them invoked King's ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, noting with a combination of sorrow, anger, and penitence that King's dreams for a racially united America had not yet been realized.
Overall, the march was one of the most well attended and significant rallies in the history of the nation's capital. The gathering marked a renewed commitment to self-empowerment and betterment on the part of African Americans.
For the Martin Luther King Memorial folks to schedule the dedication on October 16 is either an attempt to disregard the memory of the Million Man March or to recognize how the objectives of the Million Man March and Dr. Kings movement compliment each other. I’m not sure what their motivation is but I doubt if choosing that date is a coincidence.
The Million Man March was held 16 years ago. Most of today’s high school seniors were barely 2 years old and have no memory of the significance of that day. Should they?
Little is ever replayed from the great speeches made at the Million Man March. Farrakhan’s speech is all but forgotten. Yet, no one can argue that the challenging pledge at the end of his speech is just as powerful today as it was on October 16, 1995.
The Pledge of Atonement by Louis Farrakhan delivered at the Million Man March...
I, say your name, pledge that from this day forward I will strive to love my brother as I love myself. I, say your name, from this day forward will strive to improve myself spiritually, morally, mentally, socially, politically, and economically for the benefit of myself, my family, and my people. I, say your name, pledge that I will strive to build business, build houses, build hospitals, build factories, and then to enter international trade for the good of myself, my family, and my people. I, say your name, pledge that from this day forward I will never raise my hand with a knife or a gun to beat, cut, or shoot any member of my family or any human being, except in self-defense.
I, say your name, pledge from this day forward I will never abuse my wife by striking her, disrespecting her for she is the mother of my children and the producer of my future. I, say your name, pledge that from this day forward I will never engage in the abuse of children, little boys, or little girls for sexual gratification. But I will let them grow in peace to be strong men and women for the future of our people. I, say your name, will never again use the B word to describe my female, but particularly my own Black sister.
I, say your name, pledge from this day forward that I will not poison my body with drugs or that which is destructive to my health and my well being. I, say your name, pledge from this day forward, I will support Black newspapers, Black radio, Black television. I will support Black artists, who clean up their acts to show respect for themselves and respect for their people, and respect for the ears of the human family.
I, say your name, will do all of this so help me God.
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