Spirit of family reunion marks Million Man March anniversary

WASHINGTON—Black men and women joyously returned to the National Mall on Saturday for the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March, calling for changes in policing and in black communities amid an atmosphere almost like a family reunion.

Waving flags, carrying signs and listening to speeches and songs, people mingled as they wove their way through security barricades and around loudspeakers and souvenir vendors at the U.S. Capitol and down the Mall on a sunny, breezy day.

For some, it was a return to Washington after the Million Man March on Oct. 16, 1995, and a chance to expose their children to the same positive experience the first march represented to them.

“This is a very special moment for me. Twenty years ago, I was by myself,” said Joey Davis, 47, of Detroit, who was setting up chairs for his family near the Capitol’s reflecting pool. “And 20 years later, I come back with my wife and five children. And so I like to think that over the last 20 years I’ve been doing my part in keeping the promise of the spirit of the original Million Man March.”

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who spearheaded the original march, called the anniversary gathering the “Justice or Else” march. Many speakers asked the crowd to chant that slogan during the day.

Farrakhan, in a wide-ranging 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,” the 82-year-old Farrakhan said.

The original march brought hundreds of thousands to Washington to pledge to improve their lives, their families and their communities. Women, whites and other minorities were not invited to the original march, but organizers welcomed all on Saturday.