Special to the AFRO
Thirty years ago one of the largest assemblies of Black men ever recorded in the country came together in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 16.
Gathered on the National Mall, more than a million Black men urged Congress to address their needs and debunk long-held stereotypes about African-American men. The march was a call for Black men to bind together and petition the government to address unemployment, incarceration rates and other ills impacting their community.
The event, known as the Million Man March, was conceived by Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, and held in conjunction with the National African American Leadership Summit. The march was an outgrowth of the “Men Only” meetings held during Farrakhan’s national “Stop the Killing” tour in 1994, according to information found in the Final Call, the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam. Also included were leading civil rights organizations of the day and grassroots groups based in America, Africa and the Caribbean, all serving in essential roles…