'Justice or Else' march just
the beginning, Farrakhan says
PwJ BeaiyAP Photo)
Louis Farrakhan
BY FREDDIE ALLEN
NNPA SENIOR
WASHINGTON
CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON - In a
wide-ranging conference
call with the Black Press,
the Nation of Isfam
Minister Louis Farrakhan
said the upcoming "Justice
or Else" rally set for Oct.
10 celebrating the
20th anniversary of the
Million Man March is just
the beginning of the move
ment.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.,
president and CEO of the
NNPA and the natiqnal
director of the 1995
Million Man March, mod
erated the call, fielding
pooled questions from
dozens of publishers and
edjtors from Black newspa
pers across the country.
Farrakhan said that
walking down the steps of
the United States Capitol
building and seeing Black
men standing together.
shoulder-to-shoul
der all the way down
to the Washington
Monument and over
to the Lincoln
Memorial was his
most memorable
experience from the
Million Man March
on Oct. 16, 1995.
The minister boast
ed that the men went
home and recommit
ted themselves to
their families and
wives, others regis
tered to vote, and
gang members left their
weapons at home.
Critics, however,
charged that little long-last
ing follow-up was done on
the local level.
Farrakhan said that
those who benefit from
White supremacy fear the
power of unified Blacks,
Latinos and all minority
people and have continued
to work against that unity,
since the 1995 march.
Farrakhan said that
since the Million Man
March, the Black commu
nity is not as strong as it
should be, so the struggle
for "Justice or Else" must
take place on two fronts.
"We can not go to
Washington, appeal to our
government to intercede to
see that Black men and
women tried in their courts
get justice in accordance
with the law and leave our
communities in shambles
with us killing one anoth
er," said Farrakhan "We as
men and women must take
responsibility for our com
munity and rid our commu
nity of fratricidal conflict
and that strengthens us as
we go to our government to
demand justice."
Farrakhan said that he
thanked God for the
women who ignited the
Black Lives Matter
Movement.
"We honor the young
ladies that fashioned that
cry and all who have joined
on but no one can rob the
young sisters of the honor
that God used [them] to say
something that caught on
and today Black lives do
matter," he said. "Let's go
to work in our communities
to make sure that all of our
people fall in love with
their Blackness and say,
'Black lives matter' and
Black love will make sure
that Black lives matter."
The truth matters, too.
The United States Park
Police (USPP) estimate of
400,000 attendants at the
original march wildly con
tradicted the estimated
count provided by march
organizers, which was
roughly 1.5 million.
Working with Boston
University, the Park
Service later revised its
estimate to 837,214 - more
than twice the original esti
mate. With a 20 percent
'Black lives
matter' and Black
love will make
sure that Black
lives matter."
margin of error, the size of
the crowd could have been
655,000 to 1.1 million men,
according to Farouk El
Baz, director of Boston
University's Center for
Remote Sensing. Even the
lowest revised estimate
was more than twice the
size of the 1963 March on
Washington for Jobs and
Freedom.
Following the contro
versy over the number of
people attending the
Million Man March,
Congress prohibited the
Park Service from making
official estimates.
Unlike the Million Man
March that primarily
focused on the empower
ment of men of color, the
call for "Justice or Else" is
meant to address the strug
gle for justice for Blacks,
Native Americans, Latinos,
women, military veterans,
poor Whites and everyone
who feels deprived in
America.
"Even though our
struggles may be different,
justice is what we seek for
all." said Farrakhan.
The minister also
praised Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.'s work during the
last years of his life that
revolved around economic
equality, unionization and
labor rights and land own
ership.
Farrakhan noted that
Blacks were largely shut
out of the prosperity
enjoyed by White settlers
after the passage of the
Homestead Act of 1862.
Blacks weren't considered
citizens in 1862, a key eli
gibility requirement that
prevented them from
claiming any of the mil
lions of acres of free land
west of the Mississippi
River granted to White set
tlers by the United States
government.
"We have to have land,
brothers and sisters, as a
basis for economic devel
opment," said Farrakhan,
proposing a legislative
agenda that would promote
land ownership in the
Black community.
Farrakhan encouraged
Black business owners to
advertise in the Black Press
and buy subscriptions to
community newspapers,
and that part of the estimat
ed $1.1 trillion in annual
buyine power
wielded by the
Black commu
nity be used to
build hospitals,
factories and to
support Black
colleges.
He also
lamented the
anger and frus
tration that
young people
have expressed
across the
nation and that
uncontrolled
and misdirected
anger can lead to great
destruction.
"We don't have a lot of
time, but we can turn the
anger of our community
into production," the minis
ter continued, adding that
young people will be more
than eager to live produc
tive lives rather than lives
of crime and suffering and
savage hphavior, if proper
ly guidea.
As the presidential
election approaches.
Minister Farrakhan warned
Blacks against casting their
votes foolishly and contin
uing to vote for the
Democratic Party that
could and should do more
for the Black community.
He added that he doesn't
see himself voting for
Democratic candidates
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) or
Bemie Sanders (D-Vt.).
He made no mention of
Willie Wilson, the Black
Chicago businessman who
is also running for presi
dent as a Democrat.
"The Black vote is a
powerful vote," said
Minister Farrakhan. "But
unless any of these candi
dates that are running for
president of the United
States speak to the need for
justice for those that are
deprived, why should we
give them our vote?"
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