Million Family March in D.C.

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 16 -- In an atmosphere of joyous fellowship,thousands of men and women — and their children — gathered amid thenation’s monuments today to celebrate racial and religious unityand the central role of the family in American life.

Called by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on the fifthanniversary of his Million Man March, people of all races andreligions spread out on blankets and lawn chairs in the NationalMall and laughed, clapped and shouted as speakers urged them toimprove their family lives.

“The family is the basic unit of civilization so everythingmust be done to take care of the family unit,” Farrakhan saidduring his speech of more than two hours.

He, along with rabbis and ministers of other faiths, thenpresided over a mass “sacred marriage blessing” reminiscent ofthe mass weddings conducted by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, whoseUnification Church was a major sponsor of the march. “There willbe many trials, many tribulations, but you must never think to backout of the word you give to God and to each other,” Farrakhan toldthe already married couples lined up in the crowd, on the U.S.Capitol stage and at the Lincoln Memorial.

The assemblage appeared to be considerably smaller than theMillion Man March, but it was expected to be the largest gatheringof black people since that 1995 event. The National Park Servicesaid the Million Man March brought an estimated 400,000 people toWashington, but Farrakhan insisted it drew more than 1 million.

The park service stopped making crowd estimates after the 1995event and the controversy over its size. But several speakerstoday said they thought there were at least a million peoplespread out between the Capitol, the Ellipse behind the White House,the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Large televisionscreens were scattered throughout the area so participants couldsee the speeches.

Ben Muhammad, the Million Family March’s national director, saidat least 3 million people showed up for the day’s events. “It waslarger than the Million Man March,” he said. “If we had 2 millionat the Million Man March, we had a little over 3 million heretoday.”