The criticisms have been coming in hard and heavy for months. "I don't like Farrakhan. I don't trust Farrakhan. The Nation of Islam is using the march to promote Dianetics. Nothing happened after the original Million Man March (MMM) in 1995. Farrakhan killed Malcolm X. I don't agree with the Nation's positions on women, LGBTQ, etc, etc, etc." What all of those critiques reveal to me immediately is that the people making them have very little real understanding of our people's conditions and how to address our problems. I say that because anyone who has that understanding is able to refute those criticisms quickly and decisively. Are they able to do that because the criticisms are inaccurate? I can tell you that I'm not a member of the Nation of Islam. I never have been, and I never will be. The reason I went to the march is because I am a revolutionary organizer for African people. I'm a cadre organizer for the All African People's Revolutionary Party, the organization I joined at age 22. The organization I am still actively committed to at age 53. I've organized countless programs for the A-APRP over the years. I've introduced and recruited scores of people to our work. I've done that on three continents and the Caribbean. So, if I've learned anything during that work and over that period of time, it's that a smart organizer takes every opportunity to organize their people. I attended the Million Man March because I knew hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of African people would be there. I knew they would be there and they would be primed to talk about the problems and the solutions our people face. This reality is an organizer's dream. A fantasy experience of low hanging fruit. A once in a lifetime chance to reach a lot of receptive people with our message at the same time.
I can tell you what my experience was at the march. There were at least one million people present. Africans from every background. Africans born in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and obviously, the U.S. College educated Africans. Working class Africans. Older Africans. Younger Africans. Militant Africans. Not so militant Africans. Every opportunity to talk to people about our Pan-African work. Myself and 10 other A-APRP organizers from the Maryland, Penn, California, New York, and Georgia chapters, passed out thousands of pieces of literature urging Africans to get organized. I had hundreds of outstanding conversations with people. Interactions where people thanked me. Where we exchanged contact information with the persons I talked to and the organizers closest to them. This is how we get people involved and getting people involved is how we get organized and getting organized is how we win.
So, for the record, I don't believe Minister Farrakhan killed Malcolm X. I believe he, and the Nation of Islam, were manipulated by the federal government as a part of the plan to murder Malcolm, but I don't believe Farrakhan was responsible. And, whether the Nation of Islam is spreading Dianetics and whatever people think of them and their work today or in the past is completely non essential to me. Wherever Africans are, I'm going to try and be there. Wherever we are, the A-APRP should be trying to be there. That's the point. Being where our people are places us in a position to work with them which is exactly what I want to do. Honestly, I didn't hear much of Farrakhan's speech. I've heard the Minister live probably about seven or eight times over the years. Plus, I was busy working while he was speaking. That's the reason the critiques are so baseless to me. Besides the fact most of the people making the criticisms couldn't organize themselves from one room to another, Farrakhan has been in the Nation of Islam for 60 years. Whatever you think of him, whatever I think (I don't agree with most of what he says) I respect him because I respect organization. I will always respect organization because you cannot refute that most people couldn't organize five people to do anything. Yet, Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have twice organized over a million Africans to come together. Positive spirit and energy. No violence, and a desire for action. That's what 60 years of organization gets you. So, humble yourself and understand that because someone goes to the march, it doesn't mean they are a disciple of L. Ron Hubbard. It doesn't mean they support and agree with Farrakhan or the Nation of Islam. For us, it's an opportunity to organize our people. If you could figure out a way to get a million people to do anything, I will be at your rally too. Stop missing the point. The picture above is myself with the immortal Dada Mukassa Ricks. Forty nine years ago, Mukassa, when he was Willie Ricks, suggested to the leadership of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in rural Mississippi, during the march against fear, that it was time to move from the theme of "Freedom Now" (the theme of Martin Luther King's organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference) to "Black Power." Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), followed the field guidance of Dada Mukassa and today not one African anywhere in the world has missed the influence of the Black Power movement. This is how we organize friends. I'm standing on Dada Mukassa's shoulders. On Kwame Ture and Ruby Doris Robinson's shoulders. And yes, on Minister Farrakhan's shoulders. If I don't agree with him, I'm going to organize around what I agree with. That's how we advance. Let's work people and stop wasting time because we are too elitist or ignorant to do the necessary work to seriously address our problems. Anyway, I have a secret. The people who are best organized are going to win so you may want to get cracking.
I can tell you what my experience was at the march. There were at least one million people present. Africans from every background. Africans born in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and obviously, the U.S. College educated Africans. Working class Africans. Older Africans. Younger Africans. Militant Africans. Not so militant Africans. Every opportunity to talk to people about our Pan-African work. Myself and 10 other A-APRP organizers from the Maryland, Penn, California, New York, and Georgia chapters, passed out thousands of pieces of literature urging Africans to get organized. I had hundreds of outstanding conversations with people. Interactions where people thanked me. Where we exchanged contact information with the persons I talked to and the organizers closest to them. This is how we get people involved and getting people involved is how we get organized and getting organized is how we win.
So, for the record, I don't believe Minister Farrakhan killed Malcolm X. I believe he, and the Nation of Islam, were manipulated by the federal government as a part of the plan to murder Malcolm, but I don't believe Farrakhan was responsible. And, whether the Nation of Islam is spreading Dianetics and whatever people think of them and their work today or in the past is completely non essential to me. Wherever Africans are, I'm going to try and be there. Wherever we are, the A-APRP should be trying to be there. That's the point. Being where our people are places us in a position to work with them which is exactly what I want to do. Honestly, I didn't hear much of Farrakhan's speech. I've heard the Minister live probably about seven or eight times over the years. Plus, I was busy working while he was speaking. That's the reason the critiques are so baseless to me. Besides the fact most of the people making the criticisms couldn't organize themselves from one room to another, Farrakhan has been in the Nation of Islam for 60 years. Whatever you think of him, whatever I think (I don't agree with most of what he says) I respect him because I respect organization. I will always respect organization because you cannot refute that most people couldn't organize five people to do anything. Yet, Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have twice organized over a million Africans to come together. Positive spirit and energy. No violence, and a desire for action. That's what 60 years of organization gets you. So, humble yourself and understand that because someone goes to the march, it doesn't mean they are a disciple of L. Ron Hubbard. It doesn't mean they support and agree with Farrakhan or the Nation of Islam. For us, it's an opportunity to organize our people. If you could figure out a way to get a million people to do anything, I will be at your rally too. Stop missing the point. The picture above is myself with the immortal Dada Mukassa Ricks. Forty nine years ago, Mukassa, when he was Willie Ricks, suggested to the leadership of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in rural Mississippi, during the march against fear, that it was time to move from the theme of "Freedom Now" (the theme of Martin Luther King's organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference) to "Black Power." Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), followed the field guidance of Dada Mukassa and today not one African anywhere in the world has missed the influence of the Black Power movement. This is how we organize friends. I'm standing on Dada Mukassa's shoulders. On Kwame Ture and Ruby Doris Robinson's shoulders. And yes, on Minister Farrakhan's shoulders. If I don't agree with him, I'm going to organize around what I agree with. That's how we advance. Let's work people and stop wasting time because we are too elitist or ignorant to do the necessary work to seriously address our problems. Anyway, I have a secret. The people who are best organized are going to win so you may want to get cracking.
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