In a speech at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church last month, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan announced that he plans to hold a Millions for Justice march in Washington this fall, 20 years after the Million Man March according to reports.
During the speech, Farrakhan said he plans to hold the rally on Oct. 10 on the Nation Mall, which would resemble the scene of the 1995 march but this time its focus more on justice.
“This is the time our people must see our unity,” Farrakhan said. “Let’s make 10/10/15 a meeting place for those who want justice, for those who know what justice is.”
Organizers said their goal is to make this march more diverse and inclusive than the 1995 march which focused more on encouraging black men to have deeper commitments to family and community values. This time around, all ethnicities are encouraged to participate in the march for justice.
“So we’re bringing together everybody who will fight for justice, there are many of various ethnicities Latinos and even as you’ve seen protesting and demonstrations some of our Caucasian brothers and sisters, Asian brothers and sisters who’ve been out there in the streets with us,” said Rev. Bill Lamar, pastor of Metropolitan AME Church.
Farrakhan, who was accompanied with other Nation of Islam members, shared the pulpit with AME church leaders who also spoke which included Rev. Willie Wilson, pastor of the Union Temple Baptist Church, and Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, who played a key role in the Million Man March in 1995.
“When we look at 20 years ago, God showed us what can happen and what we can do when we are guided by divine direction” said Wilson, “this time around, with the unity of all these ethnicities, all these races and all these people who are crying out, we expect that we can multiply what we did 20 years ago to make a great difference in this nation.”
In referencing a chain of violent events and the most recent mass shooting in South Carolina, Farrakahn stressed the need for strong people during this call for justice.
“These are not the times for weak people, for cowardly people,” he said.
While Farrakhan commended pioneers of the AME church, he also challenged church leaders for being too willing to forgive the Charleston shooting suspect, Dylann Roof, because “he didn’t ask for forgiveness.”
“That snake walked into one of our churches, and you know how we are,” Farrakhan said. He said had it been a black person who came to the church with a certain hair style and his pants drooping, “We would have met him at the door.”
Permits have been obtained for the gathering on the Mall, and there is a national effort to help with making mobility easier during that time. One person playing an important role in this years effort is the Rev. Jamal Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, who has been a leader in communities protesting police shootings nationwide.
“We are in fact giving an ultimatum: justice or else,” Bryant said. “We are no longer looking for symbolic victory. We are looking for substance. . . . We are not terrorists, we are citizens who have been terrorized.”
Farrakhan is using this march as a means to call for fair treatment and to end injustice.
“Yes, all lives matter, but the only reason you’re here is because black lives are being slaughtered,” Farrakhan said.
Supporters for the rally unite under the social media hashtag JusticeOrElse.
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