The Million Man March and Day of Absence: Remembrance and Recommitment

As we look back and remember one of the greatest marches in U.S. history and its companion project, the Day of Absence, which occurred October 16, l995, it is important that we place it in the context of our history and culture of struggle which forms a central foundation for how we understand and assert ourselves as persons and a people in the world. Below is an excerpt from the Million Man March/Day of Absence Mission Statement which I wrote on behalf of the March and its organizers. This concluding section is called “Continuing Practice and Projects”:

The Million Man March and Day of Absence can only have lasting value if we continue to work and struggle beyond this day. Thus, our challenge is to take the spirit of this day, the process of mobilization and the possibili­ties of organi­zation and turn them into ongoing struc­tures and practic­es directed toward our liberation and flourishing as a people. Central to sustaining and institutionalizing this process is:

(a) the follow-up development of an ex­panded Black political agenda and the holding of a Black Politi­cal Convention to forge this agen­da for progressive political change; (b) a massive and ongoing voter registra­tion of Black people as independents; using our vote to insist and insure that candidates address the Black agen­da; and creating and sustaining a progressive independent political movement;

(c)  the building and strengthening of Black united fronts and collective leadership structures like the National African American Leadership Summit to practice and benefit from opera­tional unity in our addressing local, national and international is­sues; (d) the establishment of a Black Econom­ic Devel­opment Fund to enhance economic develop­ment, cultivate economic discipline and coop­erative practices and achieve economic self-determination;

(e) the reaffirmation and strengthening of family through quality male/female relations based on principles of equal­ity, complementarity, mutual respect and shared responsibility in love, life and struggle; and through loving and responsible par­enthood that insists on disci­pline and achievement, pro­vides spiritual, moral and cultural grounding and through expanding rites of passage programs, mentor­ships and increasing adoptions; (f) the ongoing struggle for reparations in the fullest sense, that is to say: public admission, apology and recognition of the Holocaust of African En­slavement and appropriate com­pensation by the government; and support for the Conyers Reparations Bill on the Holo­caust;

(g) the continuing struggle against police abuse, government suppression, viola­tions of civil and human rights and the industrialization of prisons; and in support of the freedom of all political pris­on­ers, prisoners’ rights and their ef­forts to trans­form themselves into worthy members of the communi­ty; (h) the critical task of organizing the community as a solid wall in the strug­gle against drugs, crime and violence in the community which we see as inter­­­related and which must be joined with the struggle to reduce and end poverty, increase employment, stren­gthen fatherhood, motherhood and family, support parents, provide education and prevention programs; and expose and reject those who deal in death for the community.

(i)  continuing and expanding our support for African-centered independent schools through joining their boards, enrolling our children, being concerned and active parents, donating time, ser­vices and monies to them and work­ing in various other ways to insure that they provide the highest level of culturally-rooted education; and intensifying and broadening the strug­gle for quality public educa­tion through heightened paren­tal concern and in­volve­ment and social activ­ism which insist on a respon­sible administration, professional and com­mitted teach­ers, continuing faculty and staff development; safe, pleasant, encouraging and fully-equipped campuses and an inclusive and culture-respecting curriculum which stresses mastery of knowledge as well as critical thinking, academic excellence, social responsibility and an expanded sense of hu­man possibility;

(j) continuing and reinforced efforts to reduce and eliminate negative media approaches to and portray­als of Black life and culture; to organize a sus­tained and effective support for positive models, messages and works; to achieve adequate and digni­fied representation of Blacks in various media and in various positions in these media; to expand support for and development of independent Black media; and to challenge successful and nota­ble African Americans in various media to support all these efforts; (k) strengthening and supporting organi­zations and institu­tions of the Black community concerned with the uplifting and liberation of our people by joining as families and persons, volunteering service, giving donations and providing and insist­ing on the best leadership possible;

(l) building appropriate alliances with other peoples of color, supporting their liberation struggles and just demands and engaging in mutually support­ive and mutually beneficial activities to create and sustain a just and good society; (m) standing in solidarity with other Afri­can peoples and other Third World peoples in their struggles to free t­hem­selves, harness their human and material resources and live full and meaningful lives;

(n) reaffirming in the most positive ways the value and indispensability of the spiritual and ethical grounding of our people in accom­plishing the his­torical tasks confronting us by freeing and renew­ing our minds and reaffirm­ing our commitment to the good, the proper and the beneficial, by joining as families and persons the faith communities of our choice, supporting them, living the best of our tradi­tions ourselves and challenging other mem­bers and the leadership to do likewise and constantly insisting that our faith communities give the best of what we have to offer to build the moral commu­nity and just society we struggle for as a people;

(o) and finally, embracing and practicing a com­mon set of principles that reaffirm and streng­then family, community and culture, The Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles): Umoja (Unity); Kujichagulia (Self-Determination); Ujima (Collective Work and Respon­sibility); Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); Nia (Pur­pose); Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith).

We stand in Washington conscious that it’s a pivotal point from which to speak to the country and the world. And we come bringing the most central views and values of our faith communities, our deepest commitments to our social justice tradition and the struggle it requires, the most instructive lessons of our history, and a profoundly urgent sense of the need for positive and productive action.  In standing up and assuming responsibility in a new, renewed and expanded sense, we honor our ancestors, enrich our lives and give promise to our descendants.  Moreover, through this historic work and struggle we strive to always know and introduce ourselves to history and humanity as a people who are spiritually and ethically grounded; who speak truth, do justice, respect our ancestors and elders, cherish, support and challenge our children, care for the vulnera­ble, relate rightfully to the environment, struggle for what is right and resist what is wrong, honor our past, willingly engage our present and self-consciously plan for and welcome our future.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach; Executive Director, African American Cultural Center (Us); Creator of Kwanzaa; and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture and Introduction to Black Studies, 4th Edition,  www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org; www.MaulanaKarenga.org.