Washington, D.C. – No wonder the ADL’s mouthpiece, Abe Foxman, tried to discourage leaders of the African-American community from attending the “Million More Movement” rally, which was held on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005, on the Nation’s Mall. The event, from its inception, sounded a positive theme of unity. A theme like that tends to drives hypocrites like Foxman, right up the proverbial wall. The unity theme was also evident in the signs, posters and banners seen during the affair, on a very sunny and warm day.
As far as the eye could see, the historic Mall-a space which by tradition belongs to the people-was filled with participants, the vast majority of them black. [1] They stretched from the Washington Monument to the base of the west side of Capitol Hill, where the main stage was established. (Capitol Hill, a/k/a "Traitors’ Hill," is where members of the U.S. Congress, like U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), continue to vote to fund the unjust, Neocon-inspired Iraqi War to the tune of $7 billion a month). The support in the Black community for President George W. Bush is now at 2 percent, while his overall approval rating is at an all time low of 39 percent, and falling. [2]
The Million More Movement (MMM) was a reprise of the highly successful "Million Man March" rally held ten years ago in this city by a coalition of African-American groups. Today’s effort had an even broader base of organizational support. It called for economic and social justice for "the poor and disenfranchised" and for mobilizing individuals into a process to transform American society and to finally “eliminate poverty and injustice." [3] Part of the program for the rally was set aside to hear the "Voices of Peace," regarding the immoral and illegal war in Iraq.
The MMM leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, who, unlike Congress, has repeatedly refused to bow to the Wire Pullers, had written about the rally’s laudable purpose earlier this year. He struck a universal theme for it, with spiritual overtones, too, when he wrote: "Christians, Muslims, Hebrews, Jews, agnostics, nationalists, socialists, men, women and youth are coming together in agreement that the time is now for us to articulate our demands, and to accept our responsibility to change the condition and reality of our lives. Even though we petition the government, our covenant must first be with our Creator and with each other." [4]
However, Foxman, a rabid Zionist, who has appointed himself as a "Thought Policeman" for America, didn’t buy Farrakhan’s message. He patronizingly ranted about the planned rally: "When will someone in the African-American community stand up and say the Million Man March had a positive message, but the pied piper is a racist and anti-Semite? We cannot understand why good people continue to tolerate this outrage of anti-Semitic views and behavior. It seems there is a line of denial, indeed a blind spot among many, within the African-American community when it comes to anti-Semitism." [5] This is the same Foxman who was involved in the Pardongate/President Bill Clinton scandal surrounding fugitive financier Marc Rich, a multimillionaire. The sleazy Rich had close ties to Zionist Israel’s secret police – the Mossad. The question was raised in the matter whether the wily Foxman had been acting as an agent for a foreign principal. He denied any wrongdoing. Clinton granted the pardon to Rich, at Foxman’s, and others’ request, on 01/20/01, just hours before Bush took office. [6]
Russell Simmons, of the "Hip-Hop Summit Action," (HHSA), took Foxman to task for his unfair criticism of the scheduled rally. Simmons wrote to him saying, " Simply put, you are misguided, arrogant, and very disrespectful of African Americans and most importantly your statements will unintentionally or intentionally lead to a negative impression of Jews in the minds of millions of African Americans. Similar to how you single-handedly caused millions of persons to flock to see the ‘Passion of Christ’ in defiance of your call for non-attendance, you are going to precipitate a tremendous negative defiance of your demands that will again severely hurt and harm relations between Jews and African Americans. You should refrain from pressuring African American leaders to denounce Minister Farrakhan and the ‘Millions More Movement.’" [5]
At the rally, Farrakhan said, "We have seen an unprecedented number of black leaders coming together to speak to America and to the world with one voice." He added, "A new day is dawning in America…"
In addition to Minister Farrakhan, who spoke for nearly an hour to thunderous and passionate applause, some of the other speakers who addressed the assembled throng included the Rev. Jesse Jackson; the Rev. Al Sharpton; Cornell West; ex-Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th MD), who is also a candidate for the U.S. Senate in MD.; Chris Silvera of the Teamsters, Local 808, NYC; and the popular Rep. Eliijah E. Cummings (D-7th MD), the head of the Black Congressional Caucus in the House of Representatives.
In my memory, this is the largest rally that I have ever witnessed in the nation’s capital. This includes the huge anti-war demonstration of September 24, 2005. I will leave the final number of those attending the MMM event to the experts. But, whatever that figure turns out to be, the people responsible for conceiving and organizing this very moving gathering should take great pride in the massive turnout and for the positive unity theme that they took such great care to set for it. They have also sent a strong rebuke to the condescending Foxman as a result of their efforts. The translation goes something like this: "Take a hike, Foxman, and don’t let the door hit you in the a.. on the way out!"
Notes:
[1]. According to the historian Thomas Fleming, in "Myth and Truth at Valley Forge," American History magazine, December, 2005 issue, although Continental Army soldiers with Irish and German surnames dominated at the beleaguered camp in Pennsylvania, during the horrific winter of 1777-78, about 755 of its numbers were identified by the official records, "as black-10 percent" of General George Washington’s manpower "at that time."
[2]. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/10/13/BL2005101300885.html
[3]. http://www.millionmanmarch.org/news/press_rel10-05-2005.htm
[4]. http://www.millionmanmarch.org/declaration.htm
[5]. http://www.millionmanmarch.org/news/russell-simmons05-09-2005.htm
[6]. http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/02/13/email/index.html
