“I AM A BLACK, GAY MAN … I AM A BLACK MAN … I AM A MAN,” The Million Man March, Washington, D.C., October 16, 1995. Photo by Roderick Terry, via @nmaahc. [Note: This post is part of our series on the history and importance of marching on Washington. Please follow@womensmarch.] In the wake of the brutal assault of Rodney King, the riots that followed King’s police officer-attackers being set free, the Republican Party’s resounding victory in the 1994 elections, and countless other examples of America’s increased willingness to ignore (to the extent it ever paid attention to) the causes at the heart of the African American Civil Rights Movement, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and former NAACP Executive Secretary Benajmin Chavis developed a plan to hold a national demonstration focused largely on the plight of African American men. Ultimately, scores of civil rights organizations participated in planning a national march to “convey to the world a vastly different picture of the Black male” then generally was seen in popular media and to unite Black men against social and economic ills plaguing the community. On October 16, 1995, an estimated 850,000 Black men from across the United States gathered in Washington for the Million Man March; it was among the largest demonstrations in D.C. history. For many reasons, and namely due to Minister Farrakhan’s leadership (or, as many argued, due to the way in which the majority portrayed Farrakhan’s leadership), the March was mired in controversy. As the name suggests, Black women were not invited to participate; for many, this exclusion reinforced some of the very problems that needed to be addressed. Two years later, approximately 500,000 activists gathered in Philadelphia for the Million Woman March. Despite the controversies, the Million Man March was a pivotal moment; among other things, a new generation of activists heard from Martin Luther King III, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, and Jesse Jackson. Within a year, over 1.5 million Black men registered to vote for the first time. The March also provided Black gay men a chance for increased visibility. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory (at The Mall (Washington DC))
Loading...
