|
Episode #2101
Farrakhan's Call and North Carolina's Response
Brown: Everyone remembers hearing about the Million Man March of 1995. Perhaps you were there. But what did the march accomplish? And now ten years later what will yet a second march do? Well we will discuss all of that next on Black Issues Forum.
Voiceover: Funding for this program is made possible in part by UNC-TV members.
Brown: Hello everyone, I'm Natalie Bullock Brown. Welcome to Black Issues Forum. About ten years ago Minister Louis Farrakhan, spiritual leader of the African-American Muslim group, the Nation of Islam, created the Million Man March with the intent to show solidarity and strength among African-American men. The third weekend of this October he intends to repeat the act, and he has been touring the country to encourage not just African-American men but all to attend. We caught up with him when he visited Durham recently at North Carolina Central University to bring you highlights of his new invitation.
Farrakhan: And let the truth burn that form of iniquity down and from the ashes we come up a new creature in Christ.
Brown: He came to Durham to deliver a message and thousands gathered at North Carolina Central University's McDougall Gymnasium to receive what the leader of the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan, brought to deliver.
Harris: I learned about Minister Farrakhan through my aunt, she is an architect in Louisiana and she kind of brought his teachings to me. I am a Christian but also I do follow some of his teachings because Farrakhan is a very wise man.
Yab: Well I have seen Louis Farrakhan give speeches on television and I just, it really got me interested and I read in the newspaper that he would be at Central.
Davis: I am here primarily out of curiosity and sort of an interest in black history and the events around me that are going on all day.
Malik: I am here to see if I am going to agree with the method that he speaks on and come to my own conclusion in the end. But be firm about one thing, we need to come together.
Brown: He gave a history lesson on government and democracy.
Farrakhan: Now most of us are very excited about quote unquote, "democracy." They say it means a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. But when the founding fathers were in that place in Philadelphia writing this great constitution, that document did not include women, that document did not include the slaves, that document did not include the white peasantry, it was a document that really was for the rich, privileged, white male land owners.
Brown: He issued a wakeup call on morality and the family.
Farrakhan: Look at yourself. Just look at what is happening to us, what is happening to America. Now sex is the order of the day. You want to sell a million records? Just talk about what you are talking about in the bedroom but put it in, you know, rap and put a beat behind it. Little girls growing up in your house and they are looking at MTV, BET, and the little girls think that shaking the behind and doing these kind of dances is all right and then the mother has gone down so mentally, "You go, girl!"
Brown: His message also included a word on gender roles in the family, especially when the woman is the breadwinner.
Farrakhan: A man in is nature knows he is supposed to be in authority. But he doesn't have the wisdom to rule his house and you know that you are supposed to respect him and honor him but he is not worthy of honor because if you are taking care of a man, that is your child.
Brown: He spoke of institutional racism with a critical blow to both the rescue efforts and victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Farrakhan: He is flying them helicopters down there in New Orleans. We are on the roof, painting, in a white sheet saying "help" in red. Damn helicopter keep flying. Go pick up some white folks and when they have done that then they come get you. You there with water up to your chest, standing on everything; all of our people giving this money to the Red Cross. And some of our people catching Hell, they haven't seen FEMA, they haven't seen the Red Cross. You find racism everywhere. Don't you know race is showing its head in FEMA; race is showing its head in the Red Cross, yet they are telling you send your money to us?
Brown: And after nearly two hours of calling America out on many more issues, and igniting the audience in his signature charismatic style, Minister Farrakhan took the last moment to issue his final call of the evening. And it was not a call to join him in Washington, D.C. on October 14th and 15th to commemorate the Million Man March.
Farrakhan: So when you leave here tonight think about yourself. Think about what you do with your life. And think about how we must repent.
Brown: Minister Farrakhan rarely fails to deliver what some consider politically, sometimes socially, incorrect statements. Still many find truth and relevance in what he has to say.
Hernandez: If you do have a little bit of intellect, and I am talking about the basics of it, you know you can see that the man is talking to the man is telling us look at each other and help one another.
Martinez: It is breaking a lot of common ground between people for us to unite together on how we can do for ourselves and stop looking for handouts and it is time to put actions into our own hands.
Scott: Children were taught to respect each other, respect any adult, didn't matter who they were. I see him as saying that particular piece of raising a family is missing and it might just come from one of the most intelligent beings in that home and that is the woman.
Brown: We are talking about Minister Louis Farrakhan's call to gather for the Millions More Movement. And right now I'd like to introduce our guests. First we have Reverend Vonner Horton, pastor of Oxley Hill Baptist Church in Mary Hill. Minister David Mohammed is also with us; he is the head of Mosque 34 in Durham and co-chair of the local organizing committee for the Millions More Movement. We also have Reverend Kenneth Hammond with Union Baptist Church in Durham. And we are proud to have with us the former host and executive producer of Black Issues Forum, Jay Holloway, who not only attended the Million Man March ten years ago but covered it for this show. Welcome to all of you.
Now ten years following the massive Million Man March and what appears to be little change and some worsening of conditions for African-American men with regard to employment, incarceration, health care, education, and income. The march's overall value and impact stands in question. Our producer Deborah Holt asked Minister Farrakhan if this year's Millions More Movement had an action plan to create a lasting impact this time around.
Farrakhan: The Million Man March was not supported by major black organizations. It was not supported by many church leaders. But everybody showed up when they saw the nearly two million men. This time around we have been in a room together. The CBC, the Congressional Black Caucus, has endorsed the Millions More Movement and they said they want to be on the ground not only before but more importantly in the planning afterwards. We are setting up a think tank of scholars so that when we sit down with the educators, with the spiritual leaders, with the economists, out of that is going to come the plan of action so that this is not feel-good alone, it has to be the mobilization to create a movement for change.
Brown: Before we talk specifically about the Millions More Movement I'd like to address our panel of guests. And I am going to start with you Minister Mohammed. Several times Minister Farrakhan addressed America, not just black America, in terms of his invitation to the Millions More Movement. Are we hearing from a different Louis Farrakhan? Is his message different from what it was ten years ago or is it essentially the same?
Mohammed: Well it is the same message that I have always heard. I believe that his message is becoming more universal because Minister Farrakhan is not just looked at any more as a black leader; he is looked at as a spiritual leader. And under the title of a spiritual leader it encompasses all of humanity in his message.
Brown: Reverend Hammond, given what Minister Farrakhan's message tends to be about, which is about black people coming together, black solidarity, black strength, and especially the scathing comments he made about the federal government's response in Hurricane Katrina, what do you think about how possible it is to in one sense bring black people together, to try and call black people to come together, and then at the same time offer a more universal invitation for all people to come together? How do you balance that?
Hammond: I think first of all it is important to understand that one has to take personal responsibility and I think a significant part of the message that Minister Farrakhan was giving is that we as African-Americans must first take personal responsibility. And I think as we begin to demonstrate that we are capable and willing to take personal responsibilities, there are other constituents and supporters who will be brought into the mix and I think that is what it is really all about.
Brown: So you are saying that he is, part of his message is that if we first take responsibility for ourselves others will be willing to help us?
Hammond: Absolutely, and the old saying, "Who is going to help us if not us?" and that is the starting point.
Brown: Jay you were at the Million Man March in 1995. What was the environment like there? Did you feel that the attendees actually caught on to what Reverend Hammond is suggesting, this sentiment of self-responsibility and a willingness for people who may not have thought about their lives in that sense, being willing to take that on as a result of the march?
Holloway: No doubt about it. As a producer at that time, Mary Johnson and Michael Collin, I went from UNC-TV and we saw the sense of everyone being there regardless of the controversy of whether they were Christian or not. It was clear this was a major movement and men were taking on that responsibility for themselves, for spiritual atonement, economics, health. There was a major-it seems to me there were two things; one was the O.J. Simpson trial had just come about and that brought about the racial divide in our country, as the Katrina movement now is doing that for this new movement so people seem to take on a sense of responsibility for themselves. We noticed that.
Brown: Did you notice anything or observe anything then that maybe was missing that perhaps from what you know about the Millions More Movement is either going to be included or needs to be included this time around?
Holloway: I think Minister Farrakhan was very astute to be more inclusive this time and to get the larger black community involved from the beginning and throughout this process. And that is what is needed. No one else in the black community has been able to bring this many people together to do that, so I think that has been a positive thing for African-Americans to get together and to commemorate this tenth anniversary.
Brown: Thank you. Reverend Horton, I want to talk about Hurricane Isabelle in light of Hurricane Katrina. Now you and your community were deeply impacted by Hurricane Isabelle. What about Minister Farrakhan's message resonates for you in terms of what he is saying about Hurricane Katrina and the response to the evacuees, the victims of this hurricane, when you think about what your experience was?
Horton: I think it is important that we keep it in the proper context and content. Though the community of Mary Hill and Bertie County did endure with Hurricane Isabelle, none can compare to what took place with Hurricane Katrina. And the obviousness is that we as a people need to be certain that within our communities that there is a response system in place, that we are not so contingent upon waiting on others to get to our rescue. But when it came to our community it was nothing compared to what Katrina faced.
Brown: When we talk about human life of course we need to not think about race. It should be about saving lives but Minister Mohammed, from what Minister Farrakhan was saying, do you think that he has in his mind the idea that the federal government is not responsive to African-Americans because we are black or what else might be going on? I mean is he saying that the federal government does not have the capacity to respond?
Mohammed: Well I think that Minister Farrakhan was speaking out of his knowledge of history, his knowledge of the present, the racial gaps that exist in education, health care, I mean we could call roll. I mean we can't sweep issues under the rug and act like they don't exist in the nation that we live in. But Minister Farrakhan was speaking out of his knowledge of the reality of what is taking place on the ground in New Orleans and in Houston, Texas and many of us who are members of the Nation of Islam went to these shelters where mass numbers of people were taken to and we went with food and we went with water. We went with blankets and we were turned around at the door and were told by certain officials, government officials, that they didn't want these items, they wanted money; just send the money. Now this is a fact, this is nothing that is a conspiracy issue or something that we were trying to exacerbate tensions between white and black, this is a fact that when people have sacrificed their families to help other families and they were turned around at the door when they went with blankets and water and food and they were told that, "No, we don't need that. Just send your money." That is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by our public officials.
Brown: Well Reverend Horton, was this, did you experience something similar during Hurricane Isabelle or what exactly happened in terms of federal response and local response?
Horton: Certainly it was a little slow getting there. We made every attempt. We had to within the community begin to pull resources together. We were approximately four to five days in the hurricane before we ever saw Red Cross, before we ever heard from Salvation Army, before we ever heard from a FEMA representative. We had to then try to pool people from a very rural-based community. They did have the things within the county, but when you deal with a large rural-based community, there was nothing coming in to the area that was most hit by the hurricane. It was extremely late getting there and so certainly I can agree with that. It was once the response got there that things began to smooth out. But prior to that it was everybody taking the little that they had, bringing it together, to try to meet the needs of everybody with just a small amount.
Brown: Well Reverend Hammond, in terms of the Millions More Movement, I mean as Minister Mohammed said there are so many issues that still are divided along racial lines in our country and I am wondering if you see this new march as something that perhaps can begin as the march did ten years ago to draw attention to issues, especially in light of Hurricane Katrina, issues of poverty and I mean the list could go on, healthcare, just all kinds of things that are not being done for black people. Or at least the perception is that they are not being done for black people as they are being done for white people. Do you think the Millions More Movement can address these issues in an influential way?
Hammond: I think the significant and perhaps one of the defining differences between the Millions More Movement and the Million Man March is that there is an effort to create an agenda that will come out of the Millions More Movement that can be taken to our communities with action plans so that leadership in our local communities will be positioned to raise issues, and not only raise issues but address concerns that affect us as a people. And I think that is going to be the significant piece when you begin to talk about healthcare, when you begin to talk about education, when you begin to talk about justice and peace, when you begin to talk about the prison enterprise. All of these are issues that impact us. We need to be a part of the strategy to develop ways to address these issues and I think that is going to be a very significant piece that will come out of the Millions More Movement.
Brown: Are you saying that the, a specific agenda was not as present at the Million Man March in 1995 as it appears it will be in the Millions More Movement this year?
Hammond: I think there was an agenda for the Millions Man March but I think there was not an agenda that really clearly came forth to go back to our communities out of that march. For those men who were there I think in many ways I've heard testimonies from men who were there that in some ways it was life-altering to see that many men coming together for anything. That was extraordinary in and of itself. But the fact that there will be something that comes forth this time, which I think it is significant why it is not just focused on men this time.
Brown: Jay, given your experience with the march ten years ago, did you feel like there was an agenda that was set forth at that time and that somehow the men that were there, and even women because I was there, but the men that were there caught it? I mean they got it. And they were willing to take that back to their communities and do something with it and that perhaps this Millions More Movement is going to just, what is the word, just exponentially maybe in a very different way because so many more people will be involved this time around, women, children, people of different races, that it will be even that much more effective this time around?
Holloway: I think so. There was a clear agenda. There was a blueprint. There was an agenda. There were clear things I think that did come from the '95 march and so as a media organization covering it, that is what we were looking for at that time to say what were the goals and what was accomplished? Black Issues Forum did a program to follow-up; we followed the group from Durham before and after and during. It was clear that after that more black men were registered to vote. It was clear that adoption rates went up. A lot of positive things in the black community. And what I see different this time as I mentioned earlier is the inclusion of so many different organizations to be involved. And I think now because you've got organizations, the Congressional Black Caucus, NAACP and others, this will be something to hold our community accountable. And also that media organizations can use to follow-up specifically and know who to follow-up with to hold accountable for some of the objectives that are set.
Brown: So because more organizations like the Congressional Black Caucus and other I guess significant organizations in the African-American community in particular are on the ground from the beginning, being involved. You think it is going to have that much more of a difference, make that much more of a difference?
Holloway: I think so. I think what happened in all honesty, many of the larger black organizations did not participate out front the first time because of the controversy of the Nation of Islam. But they were pleasantly surprised, I think, by the attendance and the support. And this time I think that they are on board fully even though there is a controversy in the larger community and still in the black community of affiliation with the Nation of Islam. But I think this movement is bigger than the differences that people may have because it is hard to disagree with the objective and what is planned to come out of this.
Brown: Right. Mr. Mohammed?
Mohammed: I want to say something about that because I saw it in the piece when we first came on. The object of 1995 was not to put systems in place for the rebirth of the black community, to reestablish us, to work on economic, healthcare reform, these kinds of issues. The object of 1995 was a call for atonement as a group of men just like in the scriptures when the children of Israel were given a day of atonement to say to God, "Look, we apologize for the wrong. We know we were off in the past. We see our communities degradated, we see our men being destroyed." So now when there were movies at that time that came out like Boyz in the Hood, and Menace to Society, black men were shown all over the world as a thug, a gangster, a common criminal who didn't care about his family, didn't care about his society that he lived in; he didn't care about himself. And so 1995 was an attempt for us to atone for our sins, to reconcile and accept responsibility when we got back home to change our condition and take responsibility for ourselves. And that is why as Jay was saying we saw numbers increase, crime went down, all of these things happened but what we did not have was systems in place.
Brown: To keep that going.
Mohammed: With the talent, what we call the talented tip of the intellect of black America. We have doctors, we have professionals, we have lawyers, we have Masters degrees, people with Sociology, we have to put all of these people together and come up with a common theme, a common goal, and a common focal point so that when we get to Washington, D.C. we can leave there with systems in place so that we can see our community come up. That is the difference between now and 1995, this is not just a call for atonement, this is a call for mobilization and that is why we are not calling it a march, it is called a movement.
Brown: That makes a lot of sense and Reverend Horton I am going to give you the last word. Do you think that this movement is going to really get kicked off because women are involved this time?
Horton: It should. It really should because when you look at most of the African-American homes there is the absence of males. And yet they are women who are rearing these young men. And so that respect that is first initiated in that young man has to come from the mother. And once the women are inclusive and everybody can come together regardless of race, religion, creed, or socio-economic background, then and only then can there be a true movement towards what we can consider as a people progression. Brown: Well said. I'd like to thank our guests for joining us for this important discussion. And if you'd like a transcript for this show you will find one on our website at www.unctv.org/bif. You can also call us at 919-548-7167 with your comments. Be sure to join us at our new time Sunday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. and late night Thursdays at 1:30 a.m. For Black Issues Forum, I am Natalie Bullock Brown reminding you to be encouraged no matter what. |
