Thousands Gather for Million Man March 20th Anniversary in D.C.

By Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News

Black men and women from around the nation are gathering on the National Mall to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March and call for policing reforms and changes in black communities.

Waving flags, carrying signs and listening to speeches and songs, the crowd wove their way through security barricades and souvenir vendors at the U.S. Capitol and spread down the Mall on a sunny and breezy fall day. Among the attendees was Nate Smith of Oakland, California, who joined the 1963 March on Washington and the 1995 Million Man March. “It’s something that I need to do,” the 70-year-old man said. “It’s like a pilgrimage for me, and something I think all black people need to do.”

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who spearheaded the original march, is leading an anniversary gathering Saturday at the Capitol called the “Justice or Else” march.

“I plan to deliver an uncompromising message and call for the government of the United States to respond to our legitimate grievances,” Farrakhan said in a statement.

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Farrakhan also praised the young protesters behind Black Lives Matter. He called them the next leaders of the civil rights movement and called on older leaders to support them.

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The original march on Oct. 16, 1995, peacefully brought hundreds of thousands to Washington to pledge to improve their lives, their families and their communities. Women, whites and other minorities were not invited to the original march, but organizers say all are welcome Saturday and that they expected hundreds of thousands of participants.

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Attention has been focused on the deaths of unarmed black men since the shootings of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 in Florida and 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Deaths of unarmed black males at the hands of law enforcement officers have inspired protests under the “Black Lives Matter” moniker around the country.

Families of Brown, Martin and Sandra Bland who participated in the march asked the crowd not to forget the names of their loved ones and not be silent about their deaths…

A “Justice or Else” statement said those involved in the movement were demanding an end to police brutality and also justice for Native Americans, Latinos, women, the poor, the incarcerated and veterans.

“We want Justice for Blacks in America who have given America 460 years of sweat and blood to make her rich and powerful,” the statement added.

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