ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996 TAG: 9610170057
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: From The Washington Post and The Associated Press
Thousands of people gathered in the streets near the United Nations on Wednesday for a rally called by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who demanded that the U.N. take action against the United States for the ``genocide'' of blacks and American Indians.
The ``Day of Atonement'' rally, which organizers said was being broadcast by satellite around the world, was intended to commemorate the first anniversary of last year's Million Man March. But unlike the historic march in Washington, which brought together hundreds of thousands of black men, Wednesday's rally drew much smaller crowds, enjoyed little support from national black leaders and featured an agenda crafted almost exclusively by Farrakhan.
In a 21/2-hour speech that many in the crowd at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza watched on two scoreboard-sized television monitors, Farrakhan called on the United States to acknowledge and take steps to repair the damage done by its past transgressions, including slavery and covert efforts to destabilize foreign governments.
Farrakhan also challenged the United Nations to ``stand up'' to the United States, which he said exerts undue influence on the world body, leading it to endorse ``unjust'' policies such as international sanctions against Iraq and Libya. Farrakhan's visits to those two countries and his efforts to win U.S. government approval for a $1 billion gift from Libya have generated controversy.
The Nation of Islam leader also called on the United States to lift its economic embargo on Cuba. Many in the crowd applauded Farrakhan's speech and celebrated appearances by Winnie Mandela, the former wife of South African President Nelson Mandela, and recording star Stephanie Mills, who were among the few celebrities on the program. But the audience seemed less concerned with Farrakhan's foreign-policy agenda than in attempting to recapture the spirit of the Million Man March.
``I'm here because I wanted to be with the brothers and sisters to celebrate the anniversary of the march,'' said Ryan Yarborough, 25, a financial planner who played two years in the National Football League. ``I really want to see my community improved and my people uplifted.''
Where last year's march was nearly all male, the upbeat anniversary crowd in New York mixed men, women and children.
Police estimated the crowd at 38,000, but Farrakhan scorned any official count following last year's flap over attendance at the Million Man March.
``White men can't jump,'' he said, ``and white men can't count.''
Farrakhan told those who gathered Wednesday that the spirit of the Million Man March helped reduce violent crime across the country. At last year's rally, he led a mass pledge to ``never raise my hand with a knife or a gun to beat or cut or shoot any member of my family or any human being.''
Those words reverberate in new FBI crime figures that showed a national crime decrease, Farrakhan said. Murder was down 7 percent, rape down 5 percent and violent crimes down 3 percent nationally in 1995.
``I know [President] Clinton wants to take credit for it,'' he leader said. ``I know the police want to take credit for it. The real truth is that the spirit of the Million Man March should take credit for it.''
Through much of his address Wednesday, Farrakhan again focused on the conservative message of personal responsibility that has been one of his hallmarks. But he also talked about his controversial tour of Africa and the Middle East earlier this year, including stops in Libya, Iraq and Iran, which the United States considers terrorist-supporting nations.
``Terrorism is like beauty; it is in the eye of beholder,'' Farrakhan said at a U.N. news conference after his speech. ``I see [Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi] as a victim of America's evil. I consider him a freedom fighter.''
The rally came less than a month after Farrakhan and the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, head of the National African-American Leadership Summit, led a national political convention in St. Louis that drew tiny crowds and virtually no support from national black political figures. The relatively modest turnout for the New York rally, coming on the heels of the lightly attended political convention, was dismissed as insignificant by march organizers.
``We aren't attempting to repeat the Million Man March,'' Chavis said.
But even some who supported the Million Man March are calling the showing evidence of the failure of Farrakhan and Chavis to broaden their appeal.
``In fact, I think the thing has become more and more truncated,'' said Manning Marable, a professor at Columbia University who attended last year's event in Washington. He said he declined an invitation to speak at the recent political convention.
Marable called the budding alliance between Farrakhan and political extremist Lyndon LaRouche another indication that the march's national leaders are straying from a course favored by many blacks.
The LaRouche organization, which frequently advances global conspiracy theories, has worked with the Nation of Islam in the past. But since the march, that connection has grown tighter with former LaRouche vice presidential candidate and civil-rights activist James Bevel frequently appearing with Farrakhan.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. His hands upraised with those around him, a childby CNBshows his support for the "Day of Atonement."