COLUMN A Responsible Message

From Jamil Smith's "Invisible Man On Assignment," Fall '95 From Jamil Smith's "Invisible Man On Assignment," Fall '95 Whenever a few, let alone one million, black men congregate in one place at the same time in America, there's bound to be controversy -- regardless of who organizes the event. The Million Man March, held on the Mall in Washington, D.C., was planned by Minister Farrakhan and former NAACP executive director Benjamin Chavis. Farrakhan and Chavis invited one million black men from around the nation to abandon their everyday routine for a day to come together in Washington for what turned out to be a humble, yet emotional demonstration of the pride of the black American man. It not only accomplished that, but the large celebration of brotherhood has inspired those who attended (and even those who did not) to do things for themselves, their families and their communities that will be universally beneficial. A skeptical observer of the Million Man March might question what the goals of the March were. A cynical person looking on might feel that this was a separatist action spurred on by Minister Farrakhan's message of "divisiveness," as one California man said in a letter to USA Today last week. This is not true -- a simple look at the reactions of many of the men who attended would show that this statement is foolish and uninformed. But I'll get back to that in a minute. Some might assert that the march was an anti-government action and that the location of the demonstration is a confirmation of that. It is certain that the 150,000 men who registered to vote that day would be more than happy to disagree with that opinion. Others might say that this was a political stunt engineered to perfection by Farrakhan and Chavis and that this was their way of asserting their position as top black leaders in the United States. Granted, Farrakhan and Chavis want black people (and others, for that matter) to hear what they have to say. Otherwise, they would not be saying what they do. However, there is no gold medal for being the top black activist of 1995. The important issue is not whether we listen solely to Jesse Jackson, Chavis, Farrakhan, the NAACP, or the Urban League -- what matters is what we all take collectively from their messages and how we employ them to better our lives in this country. Was the march just a very, very large recruitment session for the Nation of Islam? No. There was no recruitment at the march. Those who attended were free to turn their backs on Minister Farrakhan as he delivered his speech while paying attention to others. This fact alone illustrates that deifying Louis Farrakhan was not one of the march's aims. It is undeniable that the organizer of such a massive event as this would be in the spotlight, but this, contrary to the opinions of both officials of the Nation of Islam and dissenters of the march, does not mean that the march was about Minister Farrakhan. It was about the hearts and souls of all black American men and the re-dedication to improvement of communities at the physical, familial, and spiritual levels. Many, including myself, have remarked that messages such as these are so important that it is necessary to look past the messenger (meaning Minister Farrakhan). What we need to do in this case is forget the identity of the messenger altogether. Minister Farrakhan is not a shepherd and black men are not his sheep. A USA Today columnist incorrectly compared the scene of Farrakhan's speech to that of a Hitlerian diatribe. It is appalling that Farrakhan is even compared to the man whose deeds require no repetition. While Louis Farrakhan is depicted (and sometimes justifiably so) as prejudiced and single-minded, the atmosphere of the march was not one of hatred and bitterness, as you would have seen at Third Reich rallies. It was not one of scapegoating and finger-pointing, such as you might see, say, at a Republican convention. It was an atmosphere of brotherly love -- a concept that makes one man's philosophies pale in comparison. The plans that many of the men who attended have made are a testament to the true inspiration of the march. According to USA Today, a tool maker in Dallas said that the march's voter registration drive has inspired him to make a personal commitment to registering others and to join a civil rights organization. A Maryland teacher said that he intends to place "renewed emphasis on 'life skills' " in his classroom, emphasizing "simple, but important lessons." A cosmetologist in St. Louis has returned home and begun the establishment of Lov-A-Nation, which will provide a positive alternative to life on the street. An Emory student wants to meet with the campus' support group for black men and recommend a monthly community service project. A Los Angeles banker plans to get involved with the Big Brother/Big Sister program in his area and join efforts to better city services in his neighborhood. An Oklahoma social worker wants to simply change the manner in which he "approaches everyday life." Do those men sound like the audience of a Hitlerian diatribe? It is ludicrous to assert that Minister Farrakhan wants to unite black people in an attempt to annihilate another group of people as Hitler did with his fellow Germans. One cannot compare the two. However, 20 years in America has taught me that such assertions are neither a surprise nor uncommon. As I said before, I do not lend credence to Farrakhan's "bloodsucker" label of Jewish men and women. I am neither a formal supporter of the present-day Nation nor of Farrakhan. However, his efforts helped to illustrate that it is possible, through cultural unification, to better ourselves as black men. This message, while not necessarily universal, was very relevant. It was never racist and certainly never Hitlerian. If you place that horrible label on the event because of the presence of Minister Farrakhan, you must also place it on Maya Angelou, Stevie Wonder and Rosa Parks, who also took their turns at the podium during the march. Would you be willing to do that? Louis Farrakhan is not Adolf Hitler. On the 16th of October, one million black men in Washington showed us why.