Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 16, 2014 News
…HBTV to provide live streaming
The annual observances of the historic ‘Million Man March’ of October 16, 1995, will for the first time be held outside of the United States
Jamaica will today host the annual event which started with nearly two million black men answering the call of Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, to display a different image of the African male.
The Black Consciousness Movement (Guyana), in collaboration with the Nation of Islam (Guyana) will make live streaming of the program possible through HBTV Channel Nine at 15:00 hours. The event will be held at the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica. Scores are expected to attend the event which will feature prominent speakers from the US, other Caribbean nations, the United Kingdom, Canada, South and Central America.
A contingent from Guyana is expected to make the trip to Jamaica, Chairperson of the Black Consciousness Movement, Gerald Perreira told Kaieteur News. He said that this year’s event is geared at reaching out to African males within the Caribbean and the Americas.
The ‘Million Man March’ was a gathering of almost two million African males who sought the attention of the political arena to place “black issues” on the political agenda. It was felt that the issues affecting African Americans were placed on the back burner while the nation focused on other areas despite the circumstances under which they lived.
It was for this reason that the Nation of Islam, the National African American Leadership Summit, and a leading group of civil rights activists working in conjunction with scores of civil rights organizations, including many local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, formed the Million Man March Organizing Committee.
This year’s event seeks however, to address youth development, poverty eradiation, political self-determination, education, family reorganization and national progress within the Caribbean region. The continued restrain on people of colour continues to be an issue within Black communities around the world, Perreira told the newspaper.
He said despite some Caribbean countries celebrating 50 years of independence and having their own flags and national anthem among other things, they are still facing economic, cultural and social problems; many of which originate from the sanctions and say of the international community.
Perreira, a Pan Africanist writer, pointed out that the control of some international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provide policies and sanctions that directly affect the growth and development of Third World countries.
Many Caribbean countries, he highlighted are influenced by neo-colonialism. He said that despite being ruled by “our own” whether Indian or African governments, many decisions are influenced by the policies of the international community. He said that such policies might not be the best for developing countries.
At the time of the march in 1995, some African American leaders felt that the social and economic issues facing the black community fell by the wayside of policy debates following the Republican Party’s victory in the 1994 Congressional election.
It was said that march organizers believed that politicians were failing the black community by “papering over the most vital dimensions of the crisis in international capitalism” and blaming urban blacks for “domestic economic woes that threatened to produce record deficits, massive unemployment, and uncontrolled inflation.”
African Americans, at the time, faced unemployment rates nearly twice that of white Americans; a poverty rate of more than 40 percent and a median family income that was about 58percent. Between the ages 16-19 the number of unemployed had climbed to over 50 percent. One of the prominent Black speakers, Reverend Jesse Jackson had said in his speech that the United States House of Representatives had reduced funding to some of the programs that played an integral role in urban Americans’ lives; cutting $1.1 billion from the nation’s poorest public schools and denying 45,000 preschoolers from a crucial early education program.
Today’s program will be re-broadcast on a big screen at the Mackenzie Market square, Linden, at 18:30 hours. Minister Farrakhan will be amongst the prominent speakers.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 29, 2024
By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports – After a series of outstanding performances in 2023, Tianna Springer, dubbed the ‘wonder girl’, is eagerly gearing up to compete in this year’s...Kaieteur News – Good Friday in Guyana is not what it used to be. The day has lost much of its solemnity. The one day... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – In the face of escalating global environmental challenges, water scarcity and... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]