Leadership summit sets black agenda following Million Man March

Jet, Dec 11, 1995

The organizers of the Million Man March are working to turn the spirit of the March into something tangible. Something real.

That was always the goal. And the reason why March organizers, who also recently convened The National African American Leadership Summit at Howard University, say they were able to draw the largest crowd ever (approximately 500) to the fifth annual event.

Rev. Benjamin Chavis and Minister Louis Farrakhan, the organizers of both the Summit and the March, say the Summit was successful mainly because of the success of October's March on Capitol Hill.

"It is our contract as social change agents that we're going to transform all our movements to be God-centered movements," said Chavis. "There's no debate about a need for our movement to be God-centric," he said, "because the Million Man March was God-centric."

During the three-day event in the nation's capital, the organizers took the opporturiity to issue a nine-point national short- and long-term agenda that, they say, is the next step in keeping the spirit of the March alive.

The nine-point agenda calls for:

* A moral and spiritual renewal to encourage and sponsor spiritual revivals and transform all of its movements for social change into God-centered movements.

* Economic development to establish the African American Economic Development Trust immediately and to begin receiving contributions as well as protect the economic wealth of the Black community.

* Compile a directory of youth leaders and organizations and conduct youth leadership summits and an African Youth Day.

* Gather information on teacher training and academic tracking and develop a comprehensive education strategy to address the needs of the Black community.

* Immediately establish the Abundant Life National Health Plan and improve the quality of life for Black Americans.

* Establish a national and international high-tech Black communications network.

* Sponsor a National Black Political Convention next year and support statehood for Washington, D.C.

* Seek an end to the death penalty, initiate a national campaign for reparations and challenge the GOP's "Contract With America."

* Call a meeting within the next two months with Black and Caribbean Ambassadors in Washington, D.C.