By Dr. E. Faye Williams
(Trice Edney Wire) – A few days ago, I was blessed to reunite with a couple of my best girlfriends for the purpose of reliving the Million-Man March! We went through every moment from the first day we heard about it to that miraculous day 32 years ago. Previously, when we’ve mentioned the March, those who didn’t know about our involvement from the beginning to the end would inevitably say, “Oh, you mean the Million Women March!” No, we meant just what we said. My friends who relived the experience with me were Linda Mercado Greene and Sister Nisa Muhammad.
The three of us were there from the beginning when the March was announced, and when we were told the women would have the opportunity to stay home, watch the children, and prepare the family dinner, some of us objected to the thought that we were not expected to be on the National Mall with the brothers who’d be in Washington, DC. Linda asked what her role would be. Minister Farrakhan responded that he’d like her to be the Chief Fundraiser!
I raised my hand, saying, “Minister Farrakhan, you know I love, honor and respect you, and I know you don’t expect me to stay home with one million Black men coming to Washington, DC.”.I remember his chuckling as he was figuring out how he would respond after Linda asked what she would be doing. I challenged the notion of staying home and watching the event on television. He’d already given Linda a job. Mine did not come until later after the meeting when I received a call to let me know I would serve as Co-Chair with Dr. Benjamin Chavis!
That was a big assignment, but I had asked for it! My first trip to discuss the March was to go to Atlanta. My next assignments were meeting the press up to the day of the event, and from there I was to chair the regular meetings to be held weekly at the Phi Beta Sigma headquarters. The meetings were always packed, causing many to sit on the floor, but the enthusiasm was so high that didn’t even matter. Soon after, I learned that Dr. Dorothy Height was on board. Thereafter, we began hearing the names of other women who wanted to help. Sister Nisa Muhammad was the Mid-Atlantic Regional MGT Captain. I’m sure there were highly involved sisters in other areas, but our job in D.C. was full-time!
Some thought when we said a million men would be involved, that wasn’t possible. Once it was over, we couldn’t count everybody, but looking at the number on the mall, the number watching in the USA on TV and observing others around the world, it would not be a stretch to say we had a BILLION!
We are coming up to the 32nd Anniversary of the March! So many are already excited about the celebration to be held in Atlanta, Georgia on October 10th and 11th at the Georgia World CongressCenter (Conference Center). We haven’t put a number on the celebration this year, but some have learned the huge positive impact Minister Louis Farrakhan has on so many of our people—and right now, we need to hear from him again as we see how our people are being treated in this country.
It is my prayer that we’ll re-build the spirit among our people that we had 32 years ago. As Al Green advised us, “Let’s Stay Together” for the good of our people. Don’t worry about what others are saying. Don’t worry about what some are trying to take from us—even our history. Let’s Stay Together and continue to make even more history that benefits all of us. We are great people and don’t let anybody convince you otherwise. You can see the pledge made 32 years ago in my latest book called THIS IS ME!
