Some of the brothers with whom I traveled to Washington Oct. 9-11, 2015,
 for the "Justice or Else" rally

My diary of the Justice Or Else rally: The 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March

Abari Sankofa (aka Renarda A. Williams)

Twenty years ago — October 16, 1995 — I attended the original Million Man March, where two million Black men answered the call of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, along with those of other Black leaders and scholars.

The March was a priority call for Black men to stand up and atone for past sins and mistakes; assume a new and expanded sense of responsibility to strengthen the resourcefulness of the family; galvanize and mobilize a process to raise consciousness; lay the groundwork for increased positive social, political and economical activity in the Black community; and cultivate commitment among others to do all of the above.

Before attending the March, I was a full-time columnist/reporter for the Monroe Free Press, one of two Black weekly newspapers in Monroe, Louisiana. I was also a part-time caseworker for two juvenile diversion programs under the Ouachita Parish District Attorney’s Office; a media advocate/lobbyist for African, African diasporan, national grassroots and children’s organizations; a member of the District Attorney Office's Big Brother/Big Sister program; a community advocate/big brother; and a homeless advocate and volunteer reporter for the city's Downtown Prayer Band. Once I returned from the March, I increased my involvement in these roles.

Three years later, I started The Umoja Network (TUN), a media business through which I did freelance writing, ghostwriting, speech writing, other long- and short- term writing projects, proof reading/editing, public speaking, consulting and public relations. I also created a printed newsletter, The Empowerment Initiative, a publication under the TUN umbrella. Today, it's a free online publication titled The Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter News (TEION), which I email to readers across the country. Its main content is news, press releases and other tidbits of information that I receive from news sources every day. And as you see here, I also created The Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter Blog (renarda1961.blogspot.com), which features specific news in education, politics, economics, health, and other areas that are important to the Black Diaspora and Africa.

I relocated TUN to Little Rock in September 2004. I continued my involvement in media advocacy/lobbying and advocating for the homeless. I became a communications/public relations director for the African Women’s Health Project International (AWHPI), whose founder and president is Princess Deun Ogunlana of Houston. In 2006, my wife and I traveled with her to Lagos, Nigeria for a medical mission, where we provided health screenings and over-the-counter medicines for more than 2,000 people.

As a Pan Africanist, Afrocentrist journalist covering the original March, I traveled with the Nation of Islam Study Groups from Monroe, Rayville, and Shreveport, Louisiana. For the 10th anniversary of the march, titled the Millions More Movement, I traveled with members of the Little Rock Study Group. I went with this same group to the 20th anniversary observance, "Justice Or Else," which took place Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015 (a few days earlier than the original date) and was one of about a million people of all colors who converged at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Of my travel companions to the Millions More Movement, Bro. Kerry Nu'Man Muhammad and his sister, Sharese Nu'Man Muhammad where the only ones who rode the bus to Justice Or Else. I was so glad to reunite with them. Their mother, Maryam Nu'Man Muhammad; sister, Khashimah Nu'Man Muhammad; and brother, Yasir Nu'Man Muhammad, had flown to Washington a day earlier. I reunited with them at the National Mall on Saturday. I've always considered them to be family, as they do me.

I also rode the bus with Joe Muhammad, a member of the Little Rock NOI Study group and whom I'd met a few months earlier; as well as my friend Wayne Burt. Burt is the host of Respect For Life, a Sunday morning Black talk radio show on public Little Rock radio station KABF-FM, 88.3. Other riders were from Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and other areas of Arkansas. They were very pleasant, funny, and conscious-minded. Some of them were high school and college students who were eager to attend Justice Or Else.

Two men roomed with me in Arlington, Va where we stayed Friday night: Bobby XX Washington of Pine Bluff and Samuel Bernard. These were very intellectual, conscious brothers. We were also together at Justice Or Else. I will keep in touch with these brothers;  we had so much in common, we almost never went to bed Friday night because we found so much to discuss.

I also met, and interviewed a very impressive young couple: Billy X Freeman and Alana Freeman of Little Rock, who brought their 2-year old daughter, Maya. This was their first March — and for them, an exhilarating experience. "I’ve had a positive experience coming out here to talk about injustice," Billy Freeman said while we were in Washington. Alana Freeman spoke of how "it is very positive to see Black people come together and talk about the injustices" done to them. Alana said she intends to tell her daughter about the rally and the importance of her being there.

I talked with several other people from across the country, including Hakeem Farrakhan of Baltimore, MD. I asked him how today's march compares to the original. "The first one was the original," He replied. "The original is always special because it never happened before, and it can't be duplicated. This particular one is great because there is a new generation of young people here today mixing with the older generation who were here at the first one. And therefore, it's a better combination."

"I am enjoying hearing the accomplishments that have been made over the past 20 years, in terms of how people have developed and have moved forward," Hakeem Farrakhan added. "The first one was the marking point ... and this one provides what we have accomplished right now. But we still have much more to accomplish."

At this anniversary and rally, Black, Indigenous, White, Latino, Asian, Palestinian, and other nationalities answered Min. Louis Farrakhan's call to speak out against injustices such as abject poverty, unemployment, inadequate education and health care, homelessness, disintegrating urban and rural areas, police brutality, and high numbers of incarceration rates by city, state, and U.S. and world governments, big business, law enforcement, intelligence, environment and health agencies.

Noted speakers included: Rev. Jamal Harrison Byrant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, MD; Tamika D. Mallory, National Action Network's national executive director, civil rights leader and anti-violence advocate in New York, NY; Jay Winter Nightwolf, originator and host of The American Indian's Truths; Vladimir X, Nation of Islam representative to the Dominican Republic; Chief Ernie Longwalker of the Red Wind Nation, and Emma Lorenza, executive director of Centro Sin Fronteras.

Speakers also included parents of high-profile shooting victims, including Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin's mother), Gwen Carr (mother of Eric Garner), John Crawford, Jr. (father of John Crawford, III), and Wanda Johnson (Oscar Grant's mother). Out of all the amazing displays, I was moved the most when I saw Black, White, Latino, and Indigenous people playing bongo drums together … a strong symbol of unity.

During a fiery speech, Farrakhan made his customary appeal for self-sufficiency in solving the problems of Black America. He called for "10,000 fearless men" to go into the Black community to stop black-on-black and police killings. He also slammed the education system in America, saying the education Black people have received has only made them willing tools and slaves for the oppressor. "All [Black] educators, I am calling on you [to teach Black people] how to become successful," he said. In addition, he expressed the need for "a ministry of defense and justice because we've got to resolve our own conflicts."

Blacks must recognize their financial power and use that power wisely, Farrakhan continued. "We have $1.3 trillion, and $400 billion of it is spent during Christmas time," he said. "If you can get $400 billion and put it in your pocket, and have a little money to invest," as well as buy up as much land as possible, Black America could produce its own food, milk products, and crops to sustain healthy live for years, he added.

Justice Or Else addressed how important it is for everyone to stand up, be counted, and get involved in the fight against injustice. But I also wonder — now that we've had the original march, the Millions More Movement, and Justice Or Else — will people who attended this rally focus more on empowering their various communities, (especially Black communities)?

Will they climb on board to ensure that their children receive a quality education and that qualified teachers (particularly Black and male teachers) are hired to provide that education? Will they invest in public schools with diversified curriculums in liberal arts, STEM, college prep and vocational education, with quality tutoring programs and job training for students who seek employment after high school?

Will they invest in private schools, charter schools and boarding schools? Will Black communities invest in supporting historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)?

Will communities create more service organizations that run programs to combat social ills, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, truancy and delinquency? Will churches meet the needs of its congregations and communities by developing housing for low-income citizens and the homeless; establishing food pantries; creating programs for job training and job creation — and creating businesses?
Will communities become more energetic and self-generated by understanding the political process — knowing they can choose a candidate who will speak on their behalf and help improve the fabric of their lives? Most importantly, will community members realize that their vote is their voice?

Once communities (mainly the Black community) realize the power of their spending power, will they invest in creating businesses in their communities: supermarkets, department stores, hospitals, banks, insurance companies?
Or will there be business as usual — in other words, a few people mobilizing while the majority does nothing?

If so, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Hotep people!