Sometimes you need to give your body and your mind time to truly reflect on the moments that shape our lives. I will never forget the feeling I had to stand among my brothers and sisters at the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March last Saturday. We all came from near and far, to simply unite in a call for change, with the theme being Justice or Else. Busses unloaded from across the nation, carrying with them citizens of change. My face lit up as I witnessed kids, HBCU students, men and women of all races, it was pure bliss. It was as though I was at a cookout or family reunion and that everyone was my family even if I had never seen them before. The 20th anniversary called for changes in policing in black communities among many others addressed by speakers and Minister Louis Farrakhan. Flags were waving, many people carried signs that voiced our struggle. We were one as we listened to speeches and songs, that reminded us while we had all gathered, for justice, for change. Celebrities in attendance included: Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Common, Yazz the Great, Cornell West, Chuck D, Russell Simmons, Real Housewives of Atlanta Porsha Williams and Phadera Parks as well Russell Simmons and Jeezy.
The question has been posed Justice or Else… What? It took me some time to reflect on the movement that was the Justice or Else Million Man March and what I know for sure is that so often the momentum gets lost, in order for us as a people to truly get the justice we’re seeking we must continue to sing our song. Too many times do we see examples of injustice and immediately it becomes a social media frenzy with everyone sharing their thoughts, reposting photos and then what? We have to stop hiding behind hashtags, likes, RT’s and reposts. That may serve a purpose to trend and even be in the media for a few days, but if moments later, we’re posting our Outfit of the Day and two weeks later we’re posting a different injustice, while nothing has been done about the previous, what change are we really making?
Farrakhan, in a speech that lasted for more than 2 hours, called for more responsibility in the black community for inner-city killings and for the government to investigate recent high-profile killings of unarmed African-American men and women.
“There must come a time when we say enough is enough.” ~Minister Louis Farrakhan
If I knew nothing else, when I left the march and made my way back to my vehicle as thousands loaded back onto busses and returned home, is that the work must begin right now. Here are some points from Farrakhan’s speech and things you can pledge to do that will bring us closer to the promise land.
“You’re either going to treat us right, or we’re going to withdraw from you our economic support.We intend to boycott Christmas, but not Jesus. So on Black Friday, we won’t be there.” ~ Minister Louis Farrakhan
Money is Power! According to Black Enterprise Magazine, black people have spending power that is $1.1. trillion! That’s a ton of money, but far too often we’re concerned about the wrong things and spending our money in places that care nothing about us. We want to care about who’s looking at us, what we’re wearing, desiring to have a $5,000 Chanel bag or $600 Robin jeans, that immediately depreciate after we buy them, but I ask you what has Chanel or Robin jeans done for your community lately? We must control our dollars, invest back into our communities, invest into our children- build wealth, do you have a life insurance policy to go with those $600 jeans or that $5,000 bag? If something happened to you tomorrow, what legacy will you leave behind, will you leave wealth behind to your children? One pastor said something that hit home for me “We need to begin taking our money out of banks that will loan us money for cars, but not to start our businesses,” he said. How true is this, money is the movement, make the changes in your spending, support black owned businesses with the same eagerness that you do with others.
“Black men and women should forsake foul language and violence against each other.””You should never call another woman a bitch; “Get that word out of our language.” ~ Minister Louis Farrakhan
Watch Your Mouth! I saw an amazing shirt on a man at the rally Saturday it read “Nigger, Nigga… Neither” and I thought yasss! We are men, we are boys, we are children of God, we have to address each other as such. As a lady I want to speak to the women, when I say we must stop calling ourselves and others a “Bitch”. We are not Bad Bitches, we’re queens, we are not female dogs, we have to do better, much better, always being reminded that the change starts with us.
“These are not just young people who happened to wake up one morning. Ferguson ignited it all,” he said. “So [to] all the brothers and sisters from Ferguson who laid in the streets, all the brothers and sisters from Ferguson who challenged the tanks, we are honored that you have come to represent our struggle and our demands.” ~ Minister Louis Farrakhan
Join in, Speak Up and Speak Out! Sure posting on Twitter or sharing a photo in remembrance of the many who have lost their lives to police brutality are important, but as we return to our regular schedules, we have to continue to join with those who are doing the work. Join a community group that is organizing in your neighborhood, support the Black Lives Matter movement, write to your senators and civic leaders as a group, be the change.
“I want 10,000 names that we can train ’cause we got to stand between the guns. We who are getting older… what good are we if we don’t prepare young people to carry that torch of liberation to the next step? What good are we if we think we can last forever and not prepare others to walk in our footsteps?” ” ~ Minister Louis Farrakhan
Mentor! We have to pay attention to what’s taking place in our own communities with the same fervor that we do when someone of another race does something to us. In Chicago there have been 2,322 gunshot victims since January 1, 2015. Our babies are dying, grandmothers, college bound students, mothers, and fathers, but we continue to go with our days, where is the collective uproar of the tragedies happening right here. What I know for sure is that if ever man that attended the march on Saturday, becomes a mentor in the lives of our young boys and our girls too, if we as Minister Farrakhan said stand in-between those guns, find other ways to occupy the time of our youth, get them involved in extracurricular, show them there is another side, we can save lives, what’s greater than that? Answer the call, be a force in the life of someone else.
The work must begin now, let us bind ourselves together, stick together, stand together, demand together, make change together, the only way that change happens is if we do the work and do it together! Check out some photos from the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man Man March, share your thoughts on what needs to happen for us to get the justice we’re seeking.
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Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
People listen to speeches during the Justice or Else! rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC on October 10, 2015. The rally commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March which took place on October 16, 1995. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP-Getty Images)Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
Justice or Else! 20th Anniversary Million Man March 
