Man March

Million Man March was a brilliant ideaAs a Jew and a thinking reader, I was outraged by Daniel Berger's one-liner, Oct. 16, pegging all who support the Million Man March as followers of Louis Farrakhan.By casting the issue in the stark fashion he did, Mr. Berger did more to hand Mr. Farrakhan his victory than anyone attending the march could.Like any Jews and people of all races, I abhor the hatred and blame and racism which characterize Mr. Farrakhan's approach.I could never support his vicious prejudices about my people nor accept the claims he makes about separatism and hostility as the way toward freedom.

The Million Man March gave Louis Farrakhan his biggest audience yet and vaulted him into greater prominence as an African-American leader.But the Nation of Islam leader won't necessarily be able to harness all the energy created by Monday's rally, which drew at least 400,000 black men to Washington's Mall."

Schmoke's speech is a rouser, even if unscheduledStanding on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke was so inspired by the crowd that he clasped the hand of the man next to him and in an emotional, rousing speech urged all to work hand-in-hand toward a better future.He did not come to the march to speak, but Mr. Schmoke joined Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and Washington Mayor Marion Barry in addressing the masses of men. Mr. Schmoke described it as "one of the most uplifting experiences I've ever had."

THE REMARKABLE gathering of black men in Washington yesterday is best seen not as a reprise of the 1963 march on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech. That was a traditional exercise of the constitutional right peaceably to assemble in order to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Yesterday's tens of thousands on the Mall surely have grievances with their government, as many speakers made clear, but the theme that ran through so many of the speakers' addresses was the great need for black men themselves to overcome the grievous problems of so many black communities.

The anonymous distributor of a racist flier might have the same goal as a South Carroll group trying to stop a proposed 250-unit rental townhouse development in Eldersburg.But the motivation is different, say the leaders."As soon as I got it, I threw it in the trash," said Kathleen Horneman, a neighborhood activist with South Carroll Community Coalition. "My reaction was pretty typical of everyone else. I would love to know what type of sick mind generated it, but maybe I don't want to know, because it could be one of my neighbors."

"It's not a Woman Man March, it's a Million Man March," says Patricia C. Ferguson of Baltimore County. She doesn't mind staying away from tomorrow's march.But Vera E. Johnson of metropolitan Washington wants to know, "Why can't we be part of it?"Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan has requested that black women not attend the march, being called a charter "Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation" for black men.Many women in the area accept the exclusion; a few consider it unfair and discriminatory.

Hard work was evident during papal visitOct. 8 was a day for Marylanders to be proud. It was a day of near perfection. In my 38 years as a member of this community, I can think of no other time when so many of our people came together for a common cause.The success of the event was not born of luck or even divine intervention. Its success was due to good planning and the hard work of tens of thousands of people and organizations.This massive undertaking required the cooperative efforts of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Catholic Relief Services, a multitude of federal, state and city agencies, local businesses, hundreds of parishes as well as individuals of all denominations.

Black men, embittered by their past but hopeful for their future, are expected to gather by the tens of thousands on Washington's Mall tomorrow to make a vow of self-reliance and to demand that the nation accord them some respect.The Million Man March, brainchild of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, will be an unusually inward-looking Washington demonstration by brethren long consigned to the bottom of America's social ladder, organizers say."We're going to lay some demands on the government and corporate America, but the primary demands are the demands we're making on ourselves as black men to take greater responsibility for our families and communities," said the Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the march's national director.

If 1 million men actually show up in Washington Monday for the Million Man March, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan will have staged an event of truly historic proportions.It will easily dwarf the 1963 March on Washington during which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his immortal "I Have a Dream" speech. It will eclipse the massive anti-Vietnam War rallies of 1969 and 1971. And it will far exceed all Washington marches on behalf of gay rights, pro-choice, anti-abortion and labor solidarity.