THE DRAMATIC SUCCESS of the Million Man March has brought to the foreground, once again, the self-mobilizing capacity of African Americans. Besides its other dimensions, it surely demonstrated Black workers’ potential power—with many Detroit auto plants hard hit, and the Philadelphia school bus system and the entire school system in Camden shut down for the day.
There is also considerable debate as to the March’s meaning: Did it represent a powerful anti-racist mobilization, or a retreat from the profoundly unfinished agendas of civil rights and Black Liberation? Is it the potential opening of an independent political initiative, or an accommmodation to the "family values" politics of the right wing and a turn toward narrow nationalism?
Against the Current asked several organizers and author-activists for their perspectives. We emphasize that none of these are editorial viewpoints—rather, they represent a diversity of viewpoints which, we believe, contribute to the discussion of this important event and its implications.
ATC 60, January-February 1996