Million Family March in D.C.

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 16, 2000 -- 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.”

However, officials at Washington’s subway system said atmid-afternoon that the number of riders was only a little higherthan normal. The number of riders for the Million Man March was thesecond-highest in the subway system’s history.

Mutual RespectFarrakhan, controversial for his anti-white and anti-Semiticproclamations, has dropped that language and softened hisAfrocentric message. In a wide-ranging speech that touched oneverything from the Middle East strife to the presidential race topoverty and sexism, the Nation of Islam leader continually cameback to promoting unity between the races and religions.

“It’s the mutual respect between people and the mutual lovebetween people that will save humanity,” Farrakhan said.

Nevertheless, the crowd was largely black. Some Asian-Americanand white families could be seen here and there, many carryingsymbols of the Unification Church.

Greg Odlin, a white minister, brought his wife and four childrenon a bus from Portland, Maine. “I came to show America howimportant the family is to God and how important God is to familyhappiness,” said the 45-year-old Odlin, whose church is affiliatedwith the Unification Church. “I came down to fellowship with mybrothers and show there’s a lot of Americans serious about thefamily.”

“I’m a white brother,” said the Rev. Michael Jenkins of theFamily Federation for World Peace and Unification. “We must repentfor what we did to our African-American brothers. In the name ofGod, I repent. We must repent for what we did to our nativeAmerican brothers. I repent.”

The overarching purpose of today’s event was to demonstratethat “people of God can come together, despite our diversity, forthe noblest of causes, the family,” said Minister Rashul Muhammad,son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad.

Many Themes, Common Purpose

Many speakers hit their usual themes.

“If you love your family, you protect your family,” said theRev. Al Sharpton, who has long criticized the New York City policefor the shooting death of African immigrant Amadou Diallo.“Protecting your family is not letting one unarmed member get shot41 times and walking away without saying anything.” The unarmedDiallo was hit by 19 of the shots.

Others spoke on improving family life. Comedian-activist DickGregory urged parents to live cleaner, healthier lives so theirchildren would have a positive example to follow. “I’m so sick ofpeople saying, ‘What’s wrong with the youth of today?“‘ he said.“What’s wrong with the children? It’s you old folks.”

Ayanna Muhammad, 11, spoke for the preservation of families.“Broken homes make children sad,” she said.

Farrakhan also called on supporters to donate money to a MillionFamily March economic development fund, which he said would gotoward opening businesses in poor neighborhoods. Organizers alsocollected money to pay off the mortgage for the National Council ofNegro Women building on Pennsylvania Avenue, which the Rev. WillieWilson of the Union Temple Baptist Church called the onlyblack-owned building in the nation’s “corridor of power.”