Louis Farrakhan: Million Man March Pledge

Impact

Although there are many ways to examine African American history, Louis Farrakhan’s Million Man March Pledge can best be understood as one course of proposed actions offering hope to a group of people who were still struggling to achieve equal status in America in the 1990s. Supporters of the march, such as Dr. Cornel West of Princeton University, suggested it was a success not only because it displayed a black united front but also because it sent a sign of hope and renewed possibilities to African Americans. Many observers noted that in the year following the march, more black men registered to vote, volunteered for neighborhood and mentorship programs, and—in the case of divorced fathers—took responsibility for their families by increasing their child support payments, therefore demonstrating that follow-up actions were taken as a result of the pledge.

Critics, however, have argued that the Million Man March was unsuccessful both in the planning of the event and in the aftermath, when antagonism and financial mismanagement loomed. Because of the many controversies surrounding Louis Farrakhan, the mastermind of the event, they questioned whether it was possible to separate “the message from the messenger.” For some, messages associated with Farrakhan are seen as founded in hatred, especially because of his history of anti-Semitic comments toward Jews and the black supremacist teachings of the Nation of Islam. Yet many observers believe that the appeals to racial pride, personal responsibility, and economic empowerment inherent in the Million Man March captured the hearts and minds of those who attended and spread hope throughout the black community.