The Million Man March
On October 16, 1995, the Nation of Islam and its controversial leader, Louis Farrakhan, organized the Million Man March.
About 400,000 people, mostly black men and boys, participated in the march.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, poet Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks, the mother of the civil rights movement, made speeches at the march.
They spoke about the unfairness still faced by black men in this country.
They also urged black men to be leaders in their communities and to work together to improve life for all black Americans.
The march was repeated in years that followed, changing its name to the Million Family March and including women.
Million Women March
It was one of the biggest gatherings of women in U.S. history.
As far as the eye could see, Benjamin Parkway was a sea of humanity for over 12 hours Oct. 25
as women of African descent from all over the country and around the world descended on Philadelphia for the Million Woman March.
Organizers announced that 1.5 million women were in attendance, while the police claimed 300,000.
The march attracted women from a broad spectrum of political and social consciousness and experience. It was overwhelmingly young.
They came by bus, train, car and plane. Many traveled for days. It did not matter that it was rainy and chilly.
They were motivated to come out by a call for unity and solidarity within the Black community.
The massive outpouring was even more extraordinary in that it was not called by traditional national civil-rights organizations like the NAACP or Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
or by the big unions;
it was for the most part a grassroots effort initiated last spring by two Philadelphia Black women--Phile Chionesu and Asia Coney.
Achieve Power in Government
In 2001, two black Americans were asked to assume roles among the most powerful people in the World.
and Colin L. Powell became the first black Secretary of State.
Rice grew up in Alabama during a time when segregation and racism were rampant.
She has said that she felt she had to be "twice as good" to succeed.
She went to college at the age of 15, served on former President George Bush’s National Security Council, and became the youngest, first female, and first non-white provost at Stanford University.
She gives a lot of credit to her parents for her successes. "My parents had me absolutely convinced that, well, you may not be able to have a hamburger at Woolworth's but you can be President of the United States."
Colin L. Powell grew up in a poor area of New York City, but was determined to work his way out of it.
A professional soldier for 35 years, Powell became the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989.
The chairman is the principal military adviser to the president, and is the nation's most prestigious military position.
Secretary Powell was also the founder of America’s Promise - The Alliance for Youth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to motivating young people from every part of American life.
"America’s Promise is pulling together the might of this nation to strengthen the character and competence of youth.
And it’s working," Powell said.
2002 The Oscars Black History Night
According to the huge headlines in the New York Post and Daily News, we saw "History!" made last night. Denzel Washington was named Best Actor (for "Training Day" and Halle Berry Best Actress (for "Monster's Ball") in an evening hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and featuring an Irving J. Thalberg honorary statue to Sidney Poitier. Well, maybe. How lovely to see talented folks of color get their long-overdue props, regardless (or even because) of their race.
Al Sharpton 2003
Saying the Democratic Party needs to expand its political base, the Rev. Al Sharpton formally filed papers Tuesday seeking the party’s nomination for the 2004 presidential race.
“I think that the campaign that we are beginning to officially to embark upon will change American politics. ...
The Democratic party cannot win unless it expands its base,” Sharpton said at a news conference immediately after filing the papers at the Federal Election Commission offices.
The 48-year-old civil rights leader said he was the only candidate who is “anti-war, anti-death penalty, anti-tax cut across the board.”
Sharpton said he would reach out to disaffected voters, including Latinos, blacks, gays and lesbians, and young people.