Why I'm Not Marching
Owens, Major R.
The following are excerpts from a statement made on the eve of the Million Man March by Representative Major R. Owens (D-N. Y.), a leading figure in the Congressional Black Caucus.--Ens. my...
...I cannot agree to blind, unconditional unity with those whose slogans and platforms have been consistently reckless and divisive...
...my activist bones something always makes me yearn to support a demonstration or a march...
...And certainly, given the unrelenting attack on public policies that benefit the majority of blacks, there is an urge to applaud any nonviolent action whose target is the Gingrich high-tech barbarians...
...Are the idealistic youth headed for Washington being told by the March's organizers that they should vent their rage at those who have cut billions of dollars from lowincome housing, job training, education, and other vital programs...
...But this march is Minister Louis Farrakhan's march...
...The Nation of Islam simplifies the problems of our complex society...
...No one should ever underestimate the role of personal morality in human affairs...
...As a political leader, I cannot endorse and engage in an activity whose organizers call loudly for ecumenical and united action but who thrive on autocratic planning and decision making...
...But] basic steps to establish an environment that rejects bigotry and anti-Semitism have been rejected...
...Speaker Gingrich and his high-tech barbarians will welcome such a "confession...
...Despite my activist instincts, I refuse to participate in this march because its agenda is purposefully shrouded with contradictions and conflicting messages...
...Is Minister Louis Farrakhan's march focused on the current outrages of the Washington Republican majority...
...Unfortunately, the overall answer to these questions is "NO...
...Farrakhan's speeches trumpeting the charge of "bloodsuckers" have grown more shrill . . . . A dangerous and harmful message from this march is guaranteed when a leadership role is taken by an unrepentant Khalid Muhammad [Farrakhan's •aide—Ens.], who emphasized that the presence of black men in Washington is for the purpose of "atoning" for their sins ("against black women and their families...
...Farrakhan could have wiped out the past and taken a great leap forward by following the example of Nelson Mandela in denouncing all racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and other religious bigotry, homophobia, prejudice, immigrantbashing, and oppression of the poor...
...His picture has been on every recruitment poster...
...Are the organizers denouncing proposals to eradicate the entitlement for Medicaid...
...We know that individuals are ultimately the masters of their own fates...
...it allows those in power both to wash their hands and to forget the problems they have created . . . q 100 • DISSENT...
...He could have used this platform to truly unify Black America by endorsing the ideals and principles that place the African-American community on the very highest moral ground...
...This "atoning" validates the repeated Republican attacks on the black community...
...But October 16 is not a Caring Majority march...
...If the sins of black men are the problem, then 232 years of slavery and a hundred years of brutal oppression after slavery are not part of the problem . Not sin, but public policies, laws, regulations, and actions must be our primary concern...
...Is the anger of this march targeted at legislation that will eradicate the entitlement of all children, including black children, to receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children...
...I cannot support a major statement by a group whose isolationist posture and separatist strategy pose long-term threats to the African-American community .. This march is a golden opportunity to send a powerful message to America...
...Public policies must always strive to remove as many obstacles as possible to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...
...But it is the duty of our government to facilitate positive development, for our citizens, for their families...
...As a manifestation of massive people empowerment, a March on Washington by the Caring Majority could be very much in order and long overdue...
Vol. 43 • January 1996 • No. 1
