national director for the event,
and about sixty people spoke or
entertained, including the Rever-
end Jesse Jackson, activist Rosa
Parks, comedian Dick Gregory,
poet Maya Angelou, and singers
Isaac Hayes, Hammer, and Stevie
Wonder.
The numbers attending the
Million Man March have been in
dispute since the event. The esti-
mates range from less than a half-
million to more than one and a
half million. Boston University
used aerial photographs to esti-
mate the crowd at 837,000, with
a 20 percent margin for error.
In any case, the gathering was
one of the largest and most peace-
ful gatherings on the National
Mall and was much larger than
the gathering for Martin Luther
King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”
speech in 1963, which was pre-
sented to 250,000 during the
March on Washington for Jobs
and Freedom.
Goals of the March The tone
for the Million Man March was
summed up by Farrakhan, who
asked attendees to pledge to the
following beliefs:
To love my brother as I love myself
To strive to improve myself spiritually, morally,
mentally, socially, politically and economically
To build businesses, hospitals, factories, and con-
duct international trade
To never use a gun or a knife to harm any human
being other than in self-defense
To never abuse one’s wife or children physically or
sexually
To never use the “b” word to describe any female,
especially black women.
To never again abuse one’s body with drugs or
other things that are self-destructive
To support black media and artists who have clean
acts and show respect for themselves and othersWhile most African American women supported
the goals of the march, many were bothered by the
fact that women were not welcome to attend the
event. Activist Angela Davis provided one view of the
sexist aspect of the Million Man March by saying,
“No march, movement or agenda that defines man-
hood in the narrowest terms and seeks to make
women lesser partners in this quest for equality can
be considered a positive step.” While other women
were less strident in their view, they were still critical
of the male-only march, even though some women
were featured on the program.
Impact The goals established at the Million Man
March motivated and inspired many African Ameri-
can men who adhered to the pledge that they made
on October 16, 1995. While some fell short of the
pledge, efforts continued to attract African Ameri-
cans to the widely accepted goals that were initiatedThe Nineties in America Million Man March 575
On October 16, 1995, Louis Farrakhan addressed his audience at the
Million Man March, held in Washington, D.C. Farrakhan urged blacks
to join organizations that seek to uplift the people:Everyone of you, my dear brothers, when you go home, here’s
what I want you to do. We must belong to some organization that
is working for, and in the interests of, the uplift and the liberation
of our people. Go back, join the NAACP if you want to, join the
Urban League, join the All African People’s Revolutionary Party,
join us, join the Nation of Islam, join PUSH, join the Congress of
Racial Equality, join SCLC, the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference. But we must become a totally organized people and
the only way we can do that is to become a part of some organiza-
tion that is working for the uplift of our people....
I know that the NAACP did not officially endorse this march.
Neither did the Urban League. But, so what? So what? Many of
the members are here anyway....These are our brothers and
we’re not going to stop reaching out for them simply because we
feel there was a misunderstanding. We still want to talk to our
brothers because we cannot let artificial barriers divide us....
No, we must continue to reach out for those that have con-
demned this, and make them to see that this was not evil, it was
not intended for evil, it was intended for good. Now, brothers,
moral and spiritual renewal is a necessity. Every one of you must
go back home and join some church, synagogue or temple or
mosque that is teaching spiritual and moral uplift.... The men
are in the streets, and we got to get back to the houses of God.“We Got to Get Back to the Houses of God”