Fifteen Years Ago, on or about October 8, 1995, I saw a vision of what I was to see at the Million Man March, which was to occur on October 16, 1995. The vision and feeling I had was very strong and clear to me. I was inspired to write this.By Julius Tajiddin
A Day of Atonement
It happened twice before,
Maybe forgotten Therefore,
the vision to go beyond a dream
the time to settle a score.
Men from the East and West,
having one thing in common, the best.
From the North, from the South, a bout,
that will begin on our Capitol's steps.
Indeed a message will be sent.
It will be called a historical event.
The eyes of the World will see,
Yes believe,
the day we as men came for atonement.
So do not forget this day.
Do not let this moment lay.
It happened before, therefore,
We must act responsibly.
And there will come a time now and then,
we will hold our heads up high,
remembering when,
the day we went beyond a dream,
the day we came with a Million Black Men.
On that day in Washington D.C. I did indeed witness the fulfillment of that vision. However, a consistent question that has been asked over and over since maybe the first week after the MMM is, "What has the Million Man March accomplished?"
The folks who didn't attend the march or the nay sayers who thought that the march would be a failure are usually the front runners of much of this inquiry. Then it is those who are usually led by such people.
But think about. The Million Woman March,the Million Youth March, the Million Family March, the Million Mom March, etc., would not have come into existence if it wasn't for the Million Man March.
I can't speak for everyone who attended the Million Man March but I can speak for my own experience. When I came back home the lesson I got from the March was that I had to acknowledge my short comings and accept responsibility for such actions. I felt I had to also get more involved in my community even if I wasn't the one to be in charge.
There were many organizations already in place but many of them didn't have organization. But what they did have were people. So I started working with these organizations in the spirit of the Million Man March.
That called for forgiveness, putting aside differences, but having one goal in mind. That goal is to accomplish what needs to be accomplished to advance our improvement: mentally, socially and economically.
If you look at all the things that I have accomplished since the Million Man March, I accomplished these things with a group of people. I helped organize these groups to fulfill that which had to be accomplished toward advancing the improvement of my people. (See Time Line, infra.)
So whether there was a housing improvement, a cultural improvement, a political improvement or whatever, these improvements I credit to what I got from the Million Man March because they all came as a result of having to work with people who normally I wouldn't have worked with. The Million Man March just doesn't get credit because folks who got organized with my help don't know that the organizer was a product of the Million Man March. But do they really have to know?
In His Holy Name,
Julius Tajiddin
The folks who didn't attend the march or the nay sayers who thought that the march would be a failure are usually the front runners of much of this inquiry. Then it is those who are usually led by such people.
But think about. The Million Woman March,the Million Youth March, the Million Family March, the Million Mom March, etc., would not have come into existence if it wasn't for the Million Man March.
I can't speak for everyone who attended the Million Man March but I can speak for my own experience. When I came back home the lesson I got from the March was that I had to acknowledge my short comings and accept responsibility for such actions. I felt I had to also get more involved in my community even if I wasn't the one to be in charge.
There were many organizations already in place but many of them didn't have organization. But what they did have were people. So I started working with these organizations in the spirit of the Million Man March.
That called for forgiveness, putting aside differences, but having one goal in mind. That goal is to accomplish what needs to be accomplished to advance our improvement: mentally, socially and economically.
If you look at all the things that I have accomplished since the Million Man March, I accomplished these things with a group of people. I helped organize these groups to fulfill that which had to be accomplished toward advancing the improvement of my people. (See Time Line, infra.)
So whether there was a housing improvement, a cultural improvement, a political improvement or whatever, these improvements I credit to what I got from the Million Man March because they all came as a result of having to work with people who normally I wouldn't have worked with. The Million Man March just doesn't get credit because folks who got organized with my help don't know that the organizer was a product of the Million Man March. But do they really have to know?
In His Holy Name,
Julius Tajiddin
