THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 17, 1995 TAG: 9510170390
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE ADDIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 154 lines
Speaking to a sea of black Americans that overflowed the National Mall Monday, Louis Farrakhan delivered a searing lecture on the evils of racism in American society. But in the same address, he also offered to make peace with a Jewish community that has long reviled him as an anti-Semite.
The leader of the Nation of Islam, who devised the Million Man March more than a year ago as a ``day of atonement'' for black males, had orchestrated the largest civil-rights demonstration in the nation's history. At the march's climax, he spoke for 2 1/2 hours to a crowd officially estimated at 400,000.
Farrakhan avoided the bruising language that had marked some of his past speeches and caused many political leaders, black and white, to shun the massive gathering. But he was forceful in pinning many of black Americans' ills on institutional racism.
``I have a special message for the president and the Congress,'' Farrakhan said. ``That there is a great divide among us, and the real evil in America is the idea that undergirds the Western world, and that idea is called white supremacy.''
``White supremacy is the enemy of both white people and black people. . . . White supremacy has to die in order for humanity to live.''
Urging his audience to take to heart a passage from the Preamble to the Constitution, Farrakhan called for black Americans to help pull the country ``toward a more perfect union'' through a renewed dedication to family, community and a political activism that would make the government more responsible to minorities and the dispossessed.
``We are not here to tear down America,'' he said. ``America is tearing itself down. We are here to rebuild the wasted cities.
``All we have to do,'' he said, ``is go back home and make our communities productive places.''
The address came at the end of a long, upbeat day. Crowds had begun to build on the Mall before sunup, and Farrakhan's keynote speech wound down as the sun dropped behind the trees to the west, toward the Washington Monument.
Dozens of speakers - most holding fast to the day's theme of responsibility, dignity and renewed social commitment among black men - addressed the pulsing throng, which at times threatened to crush those at the front against a block wall below the Capitol building.
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, who had initially declined to support the gathering, spoke of ``how grand it is to hear the sounds of chains and shackles breaking from the minds of men.
``We are against racism,'' he said, ``because racism is immoral, theologically it is a sin, and morally it is wrong. . . . We are a humane people, and we fight for justice.''
The Million Man March had been criticized as sexist. But women were evident in the crowd, and were more evident in speakers' remarks about the role women had played in black society.
Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up a bus seat helped ignite the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was given one of the strongest receptions of the day. ``I am honored that young people respect me and invited me as an elder,'' she said.
The poet Maya Angelou, too, was accorded a lengthy ovation. In a poem written for the event, the lines of which evoked a history of slavery, she said: ``Draw near to one another, save your race. You have been paid for in a distant place.''
``We are a goin'-on people,'' she said in closing, ``who will rise again. And still we rise.''
But the throng had come to hear the leader of the Nation of Islam. By midafternoon some lesser-known speakers were interrupted by chants calling for Farrakhan.
The Million Man March, known formerly as ``A Holy Day of Atonement, Reconciliation and Responsibility,'' was proposed by Farrakhan more than a year ago. It unfolded Monday in a season of edgy race relations in the United States.
Affirmative action and a range of other social programs that are viewed as advantageous to African Americans are being pared back by a majority Republican Congress. Further, the aquittal two weeks ago of O.J. Simpson made apparent a deep and disturbing mistrust between blacks and whites who, according to nationwide polls, were split along stark racial lines in their views of the jury's verdict.
Farrakhan called for the registration of 8 million black voters in time to have their impact felt in the 1996 presidential race. He excoriated House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senate majority leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole and Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, among others. He was not much easier on the current Democratic president, who has sharply criticized Farrakhan's views.
Farrakhan's involvement in the march presented a complex paradox. Widely unpopular among whites for his past descriptions of them as devils, and for his continuing disparagement of Jews, his ringing calls of self-reliance and strong family values among blacks nonetheless strike a common chord. A poll by ABC News and The Washington Post showed 84 percent of blacks and 75 percent of whites agreeing with the stated goals of the Million Man March. Support for Farrakhan himself dipped to 44 percent among blacks and 11 percent among whites.
Skepticism among black leaders was evident. Jesse Jackson did not announce his support until late in the game, and several black congressmen declined to attend. Colin Powell cited a schedule conflict in turning down an invitation. The leaders of an 8.5 million-member, predominantly black Baptist organization and the New York Civil Rights Coalition condemned the march because of Farrakhan's role.
But among younger black men and women, it was apparent Monday on the Mall that Farrakhan's forceful message of pride and self-reliance could overshadow the more patient, conciliatory approach taken by an older generation of civil rights activists.
A common refrain among African Americans in the days leading up to the rally was that no other black leader had shown the foresight and mettle to organize such a gathering, and that the emphasis should be on the message, not the messenger.
But the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, the former NAACP leader who helped organize the rally, said Monday that ``there have been attempts to separate the message from the messenger, and we are not going to let that happen.
``I want to just clarify for the world,'' Chavis said, ``that God called this march through nobody else but the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.''
Farrakhan also made it clear that he would not shy from stepping into a greater role of leadership among blacks following the success of the march. Though the Million Man March did not, in fact, draw a million men, the crowd easily exceeded the 250,000 people who assembled for the 1963 March on Washington, which many regard as the high point of the modern civil-rights movement.
The fact that virtually all of them were black men made the turnout even more remarkable.
No longer, Farrakhan told the marchers, would ``power-brokers in their smoke-filled rooms'' determine whom black Americans would choose to follow.
While his message on white supremacy was pointed, Farrakhan made what seemed to be gestures to whites and to non-black minorities who have spurned his rhetoric in the past. He was careful to add Asians and Native Americans to the mix of minorities that have suffered, and openly denied that he is a racist, pointing out that no other leader has been as critical of the failings of black society as he has.
``If my heart is so dark,'' he said, ``then why is the message so bright and so clear?''
He also suggested a dialogue with Jewish leaders, saying that if they could talk with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ``after a river of blood had flowed,'' then perhaps it was time that the Nation of Islam and the Jewish community attempt to overcome their mistrust.
Occasionally using obscure theories on the racist meaning of Masonic symbolism in Washington's major monuments, Farrakhan nonetheless captivated the massive audience, most of whom could see him only on huge projection screens set up at strategic sites along the Mall.
``Look at all these black men that the world sees as savage and maniacal and bestial,'' he said toward the end of his address. ``Look at them: a sea of peace, a sea of tranquillity, a sea of men ready to come back to God.
``All we have to do is go back home and turn our communities into decent and safe places to live.'' MEMO: The New York Times News Service contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by HUY NGUYEN/ The Virginian-Pilot
Participants in Monday's event expressed themselves in many ways. A
Nation of Islam supporter waved its flag from atop a monument.
KEYWORDS: MILLION MAN MARCH by CNB