Local group organizing trip to commemorate Million Man March

Twenty years after the Million Man March in Washington, a local group is organizing a trip to travel back to the nation's capital to commemorate the historic occasion.

The group, called the Millions More Movement Local Organizing Committee, held a news conference at Muhammad's Mosque No. 96, 2324 Francis St., the headquarters of the local chapter of the Nation of Islam.

The group said they would be traveling to Washington for the Oct. 10 event, and they invited others to join them. They also announced a rally that will be held 1 p.m. Saturday at First African Baptist Church in solidarity with families of people whose murders remain unsolved.

"We also want to announce to Columbus and the surrounding areas that we are not here today and gone tomorrow," said J. Aleem Hud, executive director of Project Rebound, a local organization that aims to empower youths. "This is the beginning of an effort to take us to 10/10/15 in Washington, D.C. where we will commemorate in a bold and visionary manner the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March."

The upcoming march is titled the "Justice or Else! Millions More March," according to a website with details about the national event.

Hud and other speakers said some people may consider the theme a threat, but it's about God's judgment on America for its sins

against African Americans, not a call for violence.

"The statement says 'Justice or Else,' which implies that there are some injustices," he said. "When we talk about injustices, we might be talking about the fact that the Voting Rights Act has been tremendously castrated as a vehicle to ensure the liberties and the voting activities of people of African descent in this country. We might talk about communities here in Columbus, Ga., and beyond that find themselves in areas that environmentally other people wouldn't live in and environmentally the health conditions of our community are at risk.

"We might talk about the educational system where we have children who are being pushed out, kicked out and dropped out because they're not being inspired, stimulated and shown how education impacts their lives today and can make their lives better," he said. "We also can talk about the 65 percent of minorities and poor people who make up our prisons."

Minister Antonio Carter, president and founder of the National Joshua Generation, said the African-American community is in crisis and it's time for people to step up and make change.

"It's simple: Our children are dying," he said. "Our communities are suffering. We're losing our babies. We're losing generation after generation after generation. It's clear and evident throughout this entire country what is happening to us.

"It's a little peculiar, when it comes to the black man and woman, that we are suffering from things that no other community is suffering from," he said. "We don't see young men of any other community dying by the hundreds per year, and the thousands per year, like we see our own young men dying. We don't see any other community where we see more young men in prison than we do in college. We don't see any other community that doesn't own anything in their community besides the African American or black man and woman in America. ...The problem is systemic."

Other speakers included Stephen Muhammad, a student minister who is the local representative for Nation of Islam Leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, Sr., and Kurundi Daniels, who spoke on behalf of mothers concerned about violence that their children face in the community.

"For the Million Man March this year, we want to come together, our women backing up our men as we go out to stand for the justice that we need," Daniels said.

Among those at the news conference were Ann McKenzie, whose son Christopher Thompkins has been missing since January 2002 and Shamanique Flint, whose son Zikarious was fatally shot by a Columbus State University policy officer in 2014.

"It's been 16 months now since Zikarious was murdered and we haven't moved in the case," she said. "I've had no correspondence from the DA's office. The officer was back to work a month after my son was killed.

"My son was murdered before Michael Brown (in Ferguson, Mo.) and yet we're still waiting for answers and accountability."

The Million Man March was a gathering of African-American men in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1995. It was called by Farrakhan as an effort for African-American men to seek justice and atone for their failures in leading their homes and communities. The event also included leadership from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other civil rights organizations.

Latasha Hicks, one of the local organizers for the upcoming Oct. 10 trip, said the group currently has two buses available and hopes to recruit 1,000 people to travel to Washington. Prices range from $150 and up, she said, and the group will hold fundraisers and seek business sponsorships. Anyone interested in traveling with the group can call Hicks at 706-593-5917 or Daniels at 706-718-8650.

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Local group organizing trip to commemorate Million Man March."