October 16, 1995
"It's not about a march, a man, words. It's about a movement."
"This group is not Farrakhan's group. This is a group of black men from around the country who are coming here for a day of atonement and to talk about how to take responsibility for their own lives."
"It's important we have such a march to focus attention on the urban crisis and move from the negative urban policy of chasing welfare mothers, chastising their fathers and locking children up to some real commitment of reindustrialization of urban America."
"If you want to talk about anti-Semitism, it's written all over Louis Farrakhan. That's his message of hate. ...There are probably a lot of well-intentioned people coming to Washington. And I like the talk about self-reliance, about picking yourself up, cleaning up our cities and getting kids off drugs, but I don't think Farrakhan should be the leader of the march."
"I think the march is important in terms of awakening us to what needs to be done. But this has nothing to (do) with Farrakhan. I grew up in Mississippi. Since that hasn't gotten me to hate white folks, Farrakhan certainly can't get me to hate them."
"No question that anyone following this march will be following a person who is a hatemonger, following a person who is trying to say he is trying to help the race but all he is doing is increasing the divide because of his hatred toward others."
"When the term `bloodsucker' is used, understand that a bloodsucker is a parasite, one who lives off of a host. So, the so-called Jew who comes into the black community and makes tractor-trailer loads of money ... and the black communities get poorer and poorer."
"My hope is that the men who are in attendance will go home with a change of mind and a change of heart. I'm using this to begin a whole new stage of development in my life. I don't expect my life to be the same from this day forward."
"The lights are off at home. My car is on the verge of being repossessed. My rent is past due and yet I felt compelled to come here to be a part of this event, to recognize the day of atonement and reconciliation."
"No march, movement or agenda that defines manhood in the narrowest terms and seeks to make women lesser partners in this quest for equality can be considered a positive step."
"If we're going to rebuild this community, we have to take responsibility for it."
"Part of the reason I'm going is to encourage African-American males to get away from crime, get a good education and be responsible for the children they bring into this world."
"To give minister Farrakhan and his organization more prominence would be one of the worst things to happen to race relations."
"In this situation, the message is more important than the messenger."
"One of the things blacks are saying is that the black community is not going to let the white community define who their heroes are."
"This march, for young people, symbolizes a tremendous amount of potential."
" ... I think it is an important event and I do think it will probably be seen as significant in the history of African Americans."
"This is a very important turning point for us as a people. We are in a juncture in our struggle where we need to find solutions that go beyond rhetoric and blaming other people for our problems.
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