Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 10-9-15 Edition

Local
20th Anniversary:
Million Man March Is October 10th
“JUSTICE OR ELSE” MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN
Led by the Honorable Minister Louis Far- rakhan, more than a million Black men gathered in Wash- ington, D.C. to declare their right to justice to atone for their failure as men and to ac- cept responsibility as the fam- ily head.
On that day, Monday, Oc- tober 16, 1995 there was a sea of Black men, many who stood for 10 hours or more sharing, learning, listening, fasting, hugging, crying, laughing, and praying. The day produced a spirit of brotherhood, love, and unity like never before experienced among Black men in America. All creeds and classes were present: Christians, Muslims, Hebrews, Agnostics, nation- alists, pan-Africanists, civil rights organizations, fraternal organizations, rich, poor, celebrities and people from
nearly every organization, profession and walk of life were present.
The world did not see thieves, criminals and sav- ages as usually portrayed through mainstream music, movies and other forms of media; on that day, the world saw a vastly different picture of the Black man in America.
The world saw Black men demonstrating the willing- ness to shoulder the respon- sibility of improving themselves and the commu- nity. There was neither one fight nor one arrest that day. There was no smoking or drinking. The Washington Mall, where the March was held, was left as clean as it was found.
In recognition of that day, on October 10th, the 20th an- niversary of that historic event will be celebrated as the Million Man March will once again arrive in Washington,
JARVIS EL-AMIN
D.C., this year with the theme, “Justice or Else.”
Local Student Group Leader, Brother Richard said so far everything has re- mained positive, and they will have three buses leaving from the K-Mart Store on Busch Boulevard in Temple Terrace.
Two local residents were asked to reflect on their expe- rience 20 years ago at the in- augural event.
Jarvis El-Amin said it was a day he’ll never forget.
“The March in 1995 was held right after the O.J.
FYI
OTIS ANTHONY
Simpson trial. Black men had been polarized because of that and the opinion of a lot of people was that Simpson bought his freedom.
“Overall, it was beautiful to see not just Black men, but women and children as well. At 5 a. m., the Washington, D.C. Mall was already packed with people, and when the event started, people were hanging from trees. Every- thing had Black empower- ment intentions and I stayed until nearly midnight.
“There was so much love
and pride in the air. My only letdown was I expected a bet- ter speech from Minister Farrakhan. It seemed he didn’t rise to the occasion at all.”
Otis Anthony said it was that day he came to really re- alize that after centuries of slavery, oppression and seg- regation, he gained confi- dence that Black people would rise again.
“I climbed a wall in an ef- fort to get closer to the stage, and fell. Before I hit the ground, a group of young men caught me and put me back on my feet. Imagine my shock to find out they were members of the Crips and Bloods. I was in shock.
“I was standing about 90- feet from the podium and as far as I could see around me, there was wave after wave of Black men.
“What blew my mind was seeing everyone reach into their pockets to contribute to the effort of improving voter registration. It was unbeliev- able. When I left, I had the feeling of knowing we as a people would succeed, and my faith was restored.”
Anthony said after all of that, he felt strong and moti- vated to take a message back home.
“Minister Farrakhan didn’t offer a plan for change. He didn’t give us the right prescription.”
“I don’t think it will ever be as big as it was 20 years ago.”
FAMU Gospel Choir
The Gospel Choir of Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, will be in concert Saturday evening, October 10, 2015, 7 p. m., at New Mt. Zion M. B. Church, 2511 E. Columbus Dr. Rev. Larry Roundtree, II, is pastor. The public is invited to this free con- cert.
Tampa residents Larenz Johnson and Briana Robinson are President and Vice President, respectively.
Dr. Frances Stallworth and Valeria Singleton are advi- sors. The directors are Devion E. Hagans and Dequan Wright.
FYI
City Of Tampa To Send 5,000 Bottles Of Water To Columbia, South Carolina
This week, Mayor Bob Buckhorn made plans to send 5,000 bottles of water to Columbia, South Carolina on behalf of the City of Tampa. The gift is to hydrate citizens and first responders affected by the terrible flooding as a re- sult of Hurricane Joaquin.
"Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin is my friend, but more importantly, the resi- dents of Columbia, South Car- olina are our fellow Americans,” said Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “They need us in their time of need and we are happy to step up and do what we can to help."
The water will arrive to Co- lumbia, South Carolina on Fri- day afternoon.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015