Million Man March inspires and empowers UGA students
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When the Million Man March was first organized back in 1995, over 800,000 people flocked to Washington D.C.'s National Mall to listen to speeches from African American civil rights activists.
This year, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original rally, activists, speakers and inspired individuals once again headed to Washington in support of the “Justice or Else” campaign.
The University of Georgia was represented at the event, which took place on Oct. 10, as two of the school’s organizations attended the rally.
The Black Male Leadership Society (or BMLS) and the UGA chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sent 47 students to Washington D.C. over the weekend.
Shallum Atkinson, president of the BMLS, said that attending the march was a great opportunity for his organization’s members to join the national black community in promoting social justice.
“The fact that we were able to come together as human beings in support of social justice and many different causes that are plaguing a lot of communities was amazing and very moving for a lot of people,” Atkinson said.
This year, the Million Man March featured many speakers, including head organizer Louis Farrakhan, who spoke at the first rally in 1995. Even though “Justice or Else” was the specific theme of the rally, many speakers touched on similar subjects that were shared at the march, such as calling on governmental reform in social justice and equal rights issues.
Just as the rally sought to have a real influence on government policies, Atkinson sees the BMLS as a means to bring about this social change, both on campus and beyond.
“Our overall mission is to foster brotherhood between black men on campus and increase their self-development,” he said. “Black men tend to have a bad reputation and a bad representation, so we strive to be the faces of men who are excelling, who care about their institution and who are devoted to giving back to their community.”
BMLS was awarded UGA’s “Organization of the Year” at the Student Organization Achievement and Recognition Awards in April. The award was given specifically for the group’s efforts in improving the campus community and volunteering in the Athens area.
One of the ways that the BMLS supports the city as a whole is through mentorship of kids from ages 8 to 18, in hopes that they can support and inspiration for young people in Athens.
“[The kids] often think that going to an institution like UGA is not obtainable, so I think it’s very important for us to be around them to show that it is possible,” Atkinson said.
Attending the Million Man March was an effort to continue leading through example for the BMLS, as well as UGA’s NAACP chapter, which desires to show the Classic City its commitment to social change and community improvement.
While in Washington, the students were also able to meet and network with UGA alumni that live in the city.
Mansur Buffins, vice president of the UGA chapter of the NAACP, helped organize the trip to Washington D.C., and found the march to be a transformative experience.
“The collective energies of all those who surrounded me on the National Mall positively overwhelmed me as I thought about the fact that everyone had converged on the scene for one purpose, and that was for justice,” Buffins said.
In one of the speeches at the march, civil rights leader Benjamin Chavis noted that a certain Illinois state senator attended the first march 20 years ago. That senator, Barack Obama, went on to become the first black president of the United States.
These words were meant to emphasize the progress made since the first march and the progress to come.
Chavis also warned the crowd that there was still much more to be accomplished, and that much improvement can still be made.
With over 400,000 people in attendance this year, the Million Man March gave a sense of community and hope to the large crowd, and inspired its UGA attendees to turn what they learned into action back on campus.
“Everyone was there for the same reason,” Atkinson said. “It’s just like the same way we’re all there to cheer on the Dawgs, we’re all there to cheer for our favorite teams, we were all there to cheer in the pursuit of social justice.”
