Newark Event Will Commemorate 30th Anniversary Of 'Million Man March'

NEWARK, NJ — An upcoming event in Newark will commemorate the 30th anniversary celebration of the “Million Man March.”

According to a news release from the People’s Organization for Progress, the local event will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16 at St James AME Church, 588 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Newark.

The program will include a panel discussion about the march, the organizing effort at the state and national levels, and its impact and legacy, organizers said.

Panelists will include the Rev. Ronald L. Slaughter (pastor, St James AME Church); Lawrence Hamm, (chair, People’s Organization For Progress); Fredrica Bey,(executive director, Women In Support of the Million Man March); and Abdul Haqq Muhammad (student minister, Muhammad’s Mosque #25).

The keynote presentation will be given by Mayor Ras Baraka. The program moderators will be Amina Bey, co-chair of Women In Support of the Million Man March, and Edward Riley, creator and founder of the online public affairs show All Politics R Local.

Co-sponsors of the commemoration include The New Jersey Million Man March Coalition, Women In Support of the Million Man March, St James AME Church, All Politics R Local, and the People’s Organization For Progress (POP).

Need a recap about what happened in 1995? The POP offered the following summary of the historic march:

“The Million Man March took place on October 16, 1995. It was called by Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. However, it was supported by many national and local Black organizations, and had the broad support of Black people from all walks of life and across religious, class, and political lines. The march brought together more than a million men on the mall in the nation’s capital Washington D.C. The attendees were primarily African Americans, but also included black men from the Caribbean, Africa, and the diaspora. It was the largest demonstration at the capital in the nation’s history. The event was also characterized as a holy day of atonement and reconciliation. Many speakers at the event emphasized unity, personal and collective responsibility and transformation. It was also seen as a day of absence to demonstrate the economic power of the Black community. And it was also seen as a response to the ongoing racism and oppression that Black people experience in the U.S.”

There is a strong Garden State connection to the iconic event, POP organizers said:

“In 1994, The New Jersey Million Man March Coalition was formed to mobilize statewide participation in the event. Lawrence Hamm and student minister Abdul Khadir Muhammad were chair and co-chair of the coalition respectively. Simultaneously, the Women In Support of the Million Man March was organized with Fredrica Bey as its chair. The New Jersey coalition had more than 250 busses on its roster that were organized by community, grassroots, religious, labor, student and other groups. In addition, there were many busses that were organized independently. Many men also traveled by car, train, plane, and some even walked. It is estimated that perhaps as many as 75,000 men that attended the march were from New Jersey. Also, there were women who got on the busses and attended the march.”

Events commemorating the Million Man March are slated to be held in about 20 cities across the nation this year. A national coalition to call for, encourage, and coordinate these observances was organized by the Rev. Mark Thompson, who contacted organizers in New Jersey and encouraged their participation.

“The Million Man March was one of the greatest, most exciting organizing efforts and historical events I experienced in my lifetime,” POP chair Hamm said.

“We must not let it be forgotten,” the longtime Essex County activist said. “I urge everyone who attended the Million Man March to attend the commemoration.”

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